Shinobi Story
by Shang
Summary: Konoha was destroyed. Join Naruto and Hinata as they travel the world in which there's no peace, as they search for the Leaf survivals. Better summary inside. Currently on HATIUS, sorry
1. Fallen Leaves

**A/N:** I know, I know: another fic... and even after I said to myself I'll hold it down until my other fics reach more chapters... guess I just couldn't help that... I wrote this chapter during the breaks between studing, writting other stories etc. If the popularity of this fic will be satisfing for me, I'll try to update it as much as other fics, so if you're interested in 'what happens next' I suggest reviewing.**  
**

**Summary:** after many battles, Orochimaru was finally able to destroy Konoha completely. The Hidden Leaf disappeared from maps. Those of the Leaf shinobies who survived the destruction are being chased by the snake sennin's underlings. Having no, other alternative, the few leaf-nins hide their identity as they can in the world in which all the shinobi villages are fighting one another.

Even thought the gender is action/adventure/romance, you'll also find some humor and drama in her (just like in my other, 'Naruto' fics). There'll be many OC's (also like in most of my other, 'Naruto' fics) and fights. With that said, I think I may begin.

This story takes place when both Naruto and Hinata are 19 years old.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto… I do own my original characters and I do owe my friend five bucks.

**CHAPTER #1: Fallen Leaves**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Hinata and Naruto are having a picnic under a large tree. The whisker marks kid, as usual, is devouring a bowl of ramen and the Hyuuga heiress is sitting right next to him, blushing deeply

"Two bowls of ramen" ordered a blonde boy with blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks, wearing a black and orange dress.

"We… don't have any" replied the bar owner, looking at the boy.

"L-let's just order something else, Naruto-kun" asked a girl in a similar age to the boy. She had short, black hair and completely white eyes. She was wearing a yellow (_A/N: sorry, but I really think that color suits her better_) overcoat and blue pants.

"But I want ramen!" cried the blonde boy as the doors to the bar opened ad four men with their faces hidden behind the masks walked in. They all wore forehead protectors with a note.

"Sound-nins" whispered the blonde to the girl.

"You think… they're looking… for us?" asked the white-eyed girl.

"Could be…" replied Naruto as he observed the men so they wouldn't notice.

But as the sound-nin looked around the bar, they notice four girls sitting at a table. They all wore shinobi forehead protectors.

"_How could they be so stupid?_" wondered Naruto, looking at the girls. "_With the war going on, revealing that you're a shinobi is suicide!_" and with that thought he looked closer at the girls.

The first one of them had long, black hair clipped in a ponytail, hazel eyes and a headband with four, wavy lines on it, the sign that she was a mist-nin, on her forehead. She was wearing a tight, black dress. The top had no sleeves and the pants were knee-length. Naruto also spotted a long katana attached to her back, a golden bracelet on her left arm and more shuriken and kunai hostels then he worn on his pants.

The second girl had short, green hair, with a lock tied with a grey ribbon on the left side of her face. Her eyes were dark blue. She was wearing a white shirt with short sleeves (_A/N: at this point I believe I should note that what really draw Naruto's attention in this part was the fact that the girl had huge… well, I guess you know what… especially for a girl which seemed to be in his age_). On her right hand he also spotted a black glove with no fingers. She was wearing grey pants, which seemed to be a bit too wide for her as the space between the pants and her legs was probably quick big. Naruto's attention also stopped at a big, metal ring that was almost as big as the girl herself and was attached to her back. She wore a forehead protector with clouds on it on her left arm.

The third girl had medium-length, blonde (_A/N: though the color seemed to be more like orange_) hair that was falling at the back of her head as well as on her face (_A/N: to those who saw 'Hellsing' anime I can say that her haircut is similar to Victoria's_) and sky blue eyes. She was short compared to her companions and wore a black, sleeveless shirt and a yellow waistcoat on it along with the pants just like the second girl had, only yellow. She wore her forehead protector, representing rocks, around her neck.

The last girl had short, blue hair and a hitae-ate with a sand-glass on it, on her forehead. She had red eyes and was wearing a white shirt with short sleeves and a snake symbol in the middle of it. She wore a white mini-skirt and was carrying a long spear on her back.

"_Hmm… such cute girl's are shinobies?_" wondered Naruto as he finished staring at the four females. "_And from the four, great villages… what are they doing so far in the north?_"

"What seems to be the problem?" asked the girl with black hair as she noticed four sound-nins staring at them. "Are we annoying you?"

"Your forehead protectors…" replied shortly the Oto shinobi, who seemed to be the leader of the group.

"Oh, that?" responded the black hair girl, acting as she completely forgot about the headbands. "We're wearing them as a habit really… none of us is a shinobi from any village right now…"

"_Missing-nins?_" Hinata was a bit surprised. After Orochimaru destroyed Konoha and the villages have entered another, great war, missing-nins were a rare sight. Even those from the Leaf.

"It doesn't matter" replied the sound-nins leader. "You'll come with us, or we'll kill you…"

"Well that's not right" came a voice from behind. Naruto turned around to see who was speaking and saw a boy his age with short and a little messy, brown hair, green eyes and three, golden earrings in his left ear. He was wearing a black shirt with short sleeves and a green waistcoat on it. The blonde easily spotted a metal protectors on his hands (_A/N: I don't know how to describe it too good… they were metal plates, which didn't hindered the boys ability to bend his arms and all the plates were located only on the top side of his hands… meaning the one on which shields are attached_), which could be used to deflect a shuriken or a kunai. He was wearing long, green pants which were tied at the top with a line. But what really caught Naruto's attention was his headband, which he wore on his forehead. It had a Konoha symbol on it! "Four, grown man treating young girls… I'm afraid I can't allow that. Would you mind leave the five of us alone or do you prefer doing it the hard way?"

"Naraku-kun…" began the sand kunoichi a bit shyly. "… there's no need for you to…"

"It's okay, Tamao-chan…" replied the boy. "Can't be helped."

"A Leaf shinobi?" the sound-nin's leader eyes widen. "Looks like this is our lucky day…"

"I doubt that" announced the boy called Naraku. "Anyway, could we take this outside? There's no point in demolishing the bar…"

"Fine…" replied the sound-nin as him and his three companions followed the boy outside. The girls stayed on their seats though.

"Shouldn't we… go help Naraku-kun?" as the one called Tamao.

"He'll be fine" ensured the blue-haired girl. "There are only four of them and they're jounins at best. No need to worry…"

Few minutes later the boy with the Konoha forehead protector walked back into the bar and after reaching the table, he said:

"We should get going. Seems that those four were just a patrol of a larger group that's heading this way. If we stay here, we're risking the confrontation with more Orochimaru's underlings and that's not what we're here for."

"Naraku-sama is right!" yelled the greenhead as she jumped out of her chair. "Let's go!"

"W-what do you think, Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered to her companion as they both observed the group of five.

"Well, he does have a Konoha forehead protector…" replied the blonde. "We should at least check him out. But stay alert, he could have gotten it by killing a leaf-nin for all we know…" and with that both of them stood up and went outside after the boy and four girls.

As they both left the bar, they saw two kunai's flying at their throats. Hinata dodged the attack by jumping to her left but Naruto simply intercepted the knife.

"There's no mistaking it" announced the blue-hair girl. "They're shinobies as well. Looks like you were right, Kasumi…"

"I'm always right about those things" replied the black hair and then she turned to the two leaf-nins: "Who are you and why are you following us?"

"We only want to talk…" ensure Hinata, trying to calm down the two kunoichis. "We noticed that… your companion wears a Konoha forehead protector and… we'd like to ask him about it…"

"And why does that interest you?" came a voice from behind. Hinata turned around to see the boy with messy, brown hair. Her eyes widen. She didn't even noticed him standing there before he spoken.

"We're leaf-nins" replied Naruto, who seemed unimpressed by the boys speed. "If you wear that hitae-ate because you're one as well, then we'd like to exchange some information with you guys…"

"And what if I'd told you that I got it because I killed a Leaf shinobi?" wondered the boy.

"Then I demand you give it back" announced the blonde. "Or I'll take it by force…"

"Naruto-kun, don't…" asked the Hyuuga heiress, but her voice was overcome by the blue-haired girl's laughter:

"That's rich! That blonde pinhead actually thinks he has any chances against Naraku" and thus she burst out laughing once more.

"You say you'll take it by force?" repeated the boy calmly. "Tell you what, let's have a sparing match. You win, I'll tell you how I got that headband and give you all the information you want. But if I win, you guys will give us all of your money. Is that a deal?"

"You're on!" yelled Naruto, angered by the brown-hair boy's confidence.

A few minutes later all seven of them were outside the town. The place they've chosen for the match was a small glade, surrounded by the trees from north, south and west and by a pile of rocks on the east.

"Okay, so you're allowed to use any weapon or jutsu" announced Naraku, looking at the blonde shinobi standing in front of him. "To make this match a bit fairer, we'll have an extra rule: if you'll be able to lay a finger on me, you win…"

"Stop looking down on me!" yelled Naruto as he perform a well-known to him chain of hand seals, finished with his voice: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and then twelve Naruto's appeared before Naraku's eyes.

"_Oh, a jounin level technique_" the brown-hair thought to himself. "_And a forbidden jutsu even. Maybe I underestimated him…_" and with that thought he saw Naruto's clones charging right at him.

Naraku jumped into the air, spinning in random directions and as he came closer to the first clone, he grabbed him from behind and tossed him at another copy. As the two collide, they both disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

As his feet touched the ground he noticed three Naruto's coming at him: one from the left, one from the right and one from behind. Acting on instinct, he elbowed the one that came at him from behind in the gut. As the clone bended over due to the impact, the boy propped his hands on the ground and landed a kick to the copies chin.

The 'fake' Naruto was send flying into the air, where he disappeared, creating another cloud of white smoke.

With his hands still on the ground, Naraku used them to turn around and kicked both clones that charged at him with his legs (one leg for one clone). He then bounced of the ground, using his hands, and making a somersault, landed in front of the two clones and gave them a hit in the stomach with opened palms.

As the clones skated on the ground, they disappeared in white smoke. Naruto was left with six clones and himself.

"Naruto-kun…" whispered Hinata, seeing how the fight went on.

"Sorry to say this sweetie…" began the greenhead. "… but your blonde friend is pretty weak, since Naraku-sama doesn't even have to use his bloodline limit to defeat him…"

"_His… bloodline limit?_" the Hyuuga heiress looked surprised at the girl, but the greenhead didn't say anything more.

Another, two clones charged at Naraku as the two from those which stayed begin used the henge to transform into Fuuma Shurikens. They were then grabbed by the other, two clones that stayed behind and tossed right at the brown-haired boy.

Naraku jumped over the two, charging clones and then grabbed the two shinobi stars with his hands as they were still spinning. But due to the speed they were at when he grabbed them his hands went behind his back. It was then that both shurikens transformed back into clones and made an attempt to kick Naraku in the back of his head.

Naraku saw this coming however and hit the dirt himself as the kicks went above his head. He then rolled forward and got back to his feet. Without wasting a moment he jumped forward, with his face heading at the ground.

But before his face even touched the ground he used his hands to stop the fall and extended his feet back. A second later he left that his legs connected with something. Those were the two clones which were charging at him from behind. Hearing a familiar 'puff' sound, the brown-hair boy landed on his feet again and looked Naruto in the eyes.

"_Let's see, so there are two clones behind me and two in front, along with the original_" he actualized the situation he was in. "_At this rate it won't take longer then a minute to get rid of the bushins…_"

"_What in the world is he?_" Naruto thought to himself, looking at his opponent. "_With all that he didn't even broke a sweat!_"

"Dammit!" he yelled, this time out loud as all the clones picked out their kunai's and jumped right at Naraku, but the brown-hair just performed a quick 'Belgian Helicopter' (_A/N: that's just the name of the move… I know that in 'Naruto' world there's no such thing as Belgium!_) and as all bushins were blasted away, they disappeared in the cloud of white smoke once they hit the ground.

"Guess it's time to try the original" announced Naraku as he charged right at Naruto, but the blonde perform a quick set of hand seals and called out:

"Oiroke no Jutsu!" and right before Naraku's eyes the leaf-nin changed into a nude babe.

"_What the…?_" was all Naraku could think off as he came to a stop.

They both just stood there, not moving an inch before Naruto finally decided to break the silence: "What the hell? Why don't your nose bleed or something?"

"I'm traveling with four chicks, in case you haven't noticed…" replied Naraku, so that the spectators won't hear him. "Such attacks won't have an effect on me…"

Hearing that, Naruto threw a punch at Naraku's face, but to his surprise the brown-haired boy hit his hand from the right side with an opened palm, thus putting the punch of track and the blonde's fist went right next to Naraku's face.

Before Naruto could react to that in any way, the same palm changed directions and SLAPPED him in the face. The hit didn't seem very painful, but it was powerful enough to send Naruto flying to Naraku's right and crushing to the ground.

"I'm not an anti-feminist…" announced Naraku. "But, on the other hand, you're no lady…"

"Way to go, Naraku-sama!" yelled the greenhead.

"_Shit!_" cursed Naruto. "_If this keeps up, I'll lose!_" and with that thought he bite his finger.

"_That brat…_" thought the girl named Kasumi. "_He's able to perform that jutsu?_"

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as he finished the chain of seals and slammed his hand to the ground. "Come forward… Gamabunta!" and then a large could of white smoke covered the area.

As the smoke reached Naraku, the boy bite his finger as well and began forming the same seals as Naruto: "_That blondie… I'd never guess he'd be able to perform this technique… this time taijutsu won't be enough…_" and with that thought he also slammed his hand to the ground: "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Come forward… Toramaru!" and there was another cloud of white smoke.

As the smoke finally cleared the girls saw Naruto standing on top of a giant frog with brown skin, a tobacco-pipe in its mouth, wearing a dark blue shirt and holding a sword in his… hands.

Naraku on the other hand stood on the head of a tiger of the size at least equal to the toad. It had a dark, yellow fur with stripes black as night on it. Both his claws and fangs looked extremely sharp and his eyes were bloody red… well, at least his right eye, because the tiger had an eye-patch on the left one. Thanks to her good eyes Hinata noticed that the tiger's body was full of scars.

"What the hell kid?" asked the toad a bit pissed. "Why are you summoning me aga…" but his words froze in his throat at the sight of the tiger. "Toramaru…"

"Long time no see… Gama'" replied the tiger and the sound of his voice made Hinata shiver.

"Fear not…" said the greenhead. "Toramaru won't hurt you unless you attack him…"

"Hey, boss, you know the fur-ball?" asked Naruto a bit confused.

"You might say that…" replied the toad. "We met once, but back then you didn't had that eye-patch… what happened?"

"A bit of a long story…" answered the tiger. "And there's no need for me to tell you it right now… seems that our masters wants us to fight each other… again…"

And then, suddenly the tiger jumped at the toad with his claws aimed at the retail's head. But before they reached their target, Gama blocked the attack with his sword. As the cat jumped away, Naruto yelled:

"Gama, do the Water Cannon!" and suddenly giant bubbles of water came out of the toads mouth and came right at the tiger that just landed on the ground.

To the blonde's surprise, the cat was able to dodge all of the bullets, jumping from right to left at an incredible speed.

"Hey, blondie!" yelled Naraku to gain Naruto's attention. "This is pointless. What'd you say if we call off our… pets and continue the fight on our own?"

"Fine!" replied the leaf-nin after a short silence and both summoned creatures disappeared, creating another cloud of white smoke.

As the smoke clear, the girls saw Naraku and Naruto standing before each other. None of them moved. They just stood there. But Hinata easily spotted anger on her crush face. Breathing deeply, the blonde leaf-nin held out his hand and right before the brown-haired boy eyes a ball of spinning, blue chakra started to form in his opponents hand.

"_That technique…_" began Naraku as his eyes widen a bit. "_How did he learned that?_"

Naruto charged at his opponent, forcing the hand that held the blue orb up front with a mad yell:

"RASENGAN!"

* * *

And that concludes the first chapter. Hope you like it. Please leave a review once ou're done. 

I know some of you will be complaining that Naruto is so weak... well, I can tell you one thing: it's not that Naruto is weak, but Naraku is just extremely strong (that's how it works), which you'll learn in the next chapter.

There is still jutsu encyklopedia, but since all the techniques used in this chapter are from the manga (and anime), I guess there's no point in describing them so I skip that part this time (I'm a bit tired).

Best wishes and hopefully till the next update.


	2. Bloodlines and Stuff

Okay, I heard we're not allowed to answer reviewers anymore, so for here on now I guess I'll be answering your questions via e-mail or in other way... however, this time I'll do it somewhat the old-fashioned way. Just this once:

First, to calm down people who're afraid that their favorite characters might have died, I can only say that there will be Leaf survivals... and you shouldn't be worrying about the original, "Naruto" staff, coz they're all planned to make appearance (at least those around Naruto's age). As for why Naraku is so strong, I believe this chapter will clear it up a bit. Also, sorry that Hinata and Naruto won't play a big part in this chapter, but I can promise you that from chapter three they'll become somewhat main characters.

And also, one of you guys drew my attention that Naraku is also the name of the villain in "InuYasha"... well, I've seen first, few episodes of the show and read some manga, but I'm not that much of an "InuYasha" fan and any similarities between my OC and that guy are totally unplanned. Also, at the end of the chapter, I've decided to make Naraku's profile so you guys can learn a bit more about him

Before the last announcement I'd like to invite all of you to read (and hopefully review) my other fics. If you like this one, I thnk you'll enjoy others. Especially those who said that Naruto was 'too weak' will probably enjoy "Naruto: Next Generation".

LASTLY: I'm afraid that the next chapter won't appear till the end of this year... you'll have to wait for January for it. Sorry.

**Disclaimer:** There are lots of things I don't own and 'Naruto' is one of them.

**Chapter #2: Bloodlines and Stuff**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Hinata is kneeling on a glade and is picking up flowers to her basket

Naruto charged at his opponent, forcing the hand that held the orb of spinning, blue chakra up front with a mad yell: "Rasengan!"

"Naraku-sama!" was all the greenhead could yell as the blonde leaf-nin came closer to her companion at an impressive speed.

"_Shit!_" thought Naraku as he bended forward and propped his hands on the ground. His feet went into the air again and as Naruto came close enough, the brown-haired boy kicked the hand that was carrying the chakra orb from below, thus causing Naruto's arm to go into the air.

Without wasting another second Naraku used his other leg to hit Naruto right in the stomach. The kick send the blonde shinobi flying back before he hit a tree hard and came to a stop.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata instantly run towards her love as Naraku landed back on his feet. "Naruto-kun, are you okay?" the Hyuuga heiress was checking the blonde for any wounds, but didn't find any, except few scratches (probably caused by the branches).

"For a guy like you to master Rasengan…" Naraku came closer to the two. "… you really surprised me back there… seems that you have some skills after all… stand up, I'll tell you what you wanna know…"

----------

"You think it's him?" asked the hooded man, looking at the four, burnt bodies of the sound-nins. All that could be seen from under his hood were his eyes that were shinning a bright, yellow color.

"Hard to say" replied another, hooded figure, only this one had a female voice. "But with Konoha gone not many shinobies are capable of using fire jutsus. I'd say that it's highly possible we finally found his trace. Master will be pleased…"

"Who are you?" came a voice from behind. The two, hooded figures turned around to see a group of eight sound-nins, prepared for battle. "You did this?" asked the one who seemed in charge as he pointed at the four bodies.

"No…" responded the female. "But I believe we know the one who did…"

"Then you'll come with us for interrogation…" announced the leader of the group.

"I'm afraid we can't…" said the girl calmly. "We're here for a reason and going with you would slow us down too much. Mind leaving us…"

"Hinato-chan, there's no point in explaining ourselves…" interrupted the second figure. "Please, let me take care of it and we'll continue our mission…"

"Fine…" sighed the girl. "Just don't take too long like the last time… do it quick and as painless as you can… their screams might summon others…"

"As you wish…" replied the yellow eyes as his pupils shone even more and from under the hood the sound-nins could tell he was smiling, as sharp fangs appeared in the place his mouth should be.

----------

"To start of I think proper introductions are required" announced the brown-haired boy. "My name is Monodane Naraku. This is Nakago Kasumi…" with that he pointed at the girl with long, black hair. "…Banrai Hinako…" this time he turned to the greenhead. "…Yari…" the blue-haired girl was now pointed. "… and Akaramu Tamao…" and this time the small blonde bowed.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto…" replied the blonde leaf-nin. "… and this is Hyuuga Hinata" at that he pointed the white-eyed girl.

"Hyuuga, eh?" Naraku's eyebrow went up. "Well, you can tell by your eyes. That proves you're shinobies of the Leaf. How did you survive Orochimaru's attack?"

"We were fighting at the west gate…" explained Naruto. "Once we were able to force the enemy to move back, we saw that the other gates were taken over by sound-nins and most of the village was already demolished by that bastard's snakes, so there was no point in going back to the town. We hold the enemy as long as we could and then left the battlefield. Staying in the village would only result in our deaths."

"Judging from what you say, you did a good thing…" nodded Naraku. "… were there any more survivals? What about the anbu that were Hokage-sama's reinforcements?"

"As far as we know… the Hokage was killed along with all the anbu that tried to save her…" replied Hinata, lowering her head. "But some of the Leaf shinobies had to survive…"

"I see…" responded Naraku calmly. You couldn't see any emotions on his face but Naruto had a feeling that the brown-hair was suffering.

"So, what about you?" the blonde leaf-nin decided to change the painful topic. "How did you get the Konoha forehead protector? I doubt you really killed a Leaf shinobi…"

"I got this headband from Umino Iruka after I graduated from the Shinobi Academy eleven years ago… me and my two teammates went under the command of Shida Ryuu. A year later we participated in the Chuunin Selection Exam…"

"Wait a minute" asked Naruto. "Eleven years ago? You seem to be in the same age as me and Hinata. How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen…" replied Naraku. "Just like my companions… except Tamao, she's still only seventeen" the brown-hair looked at the blonde girl, causing her to blush slightly. "I become gennin in the age of eight… and a chuunin once I turned nine. I was promoted to jounin rank soon after that…"

"_At the age of ten he was already a jounin…_" Hinata opened her mouth slightly.

"So how come I never heard of you?" asked the blonde leaf-nin.

"I became a missing-nin before I turned eleven" explained Naraku. "And as you may know the villagers don't like to speak about the renegades… you could say I was just wiped out of the Leaf's memory. Being a Monodane didn't helped much here…"

"Now I remember" suddenly Hinata cut in. "I remember father once told me about your clan. They were thought to be the strongest clan in Konoha, maybe even stronger then both Uchiha and Hyuuga put together. But then something happened and the clan was almost completely wiped out."

"Yes" nodded Naraku. "By the time Orochimaru attacked Konoha there were five of us left, including me. After the Leaf's destruction, me and my two siblings are the only survivals for all I know… the reason why we are extinct is our bloodline limit…"

"And what's so special about your clan's bloodline limit?" asked Naruto. "And why was your clan wiped out because of it?"

"Naraku-san's bloodline limit gives him almost unlimited power" announced Kasumi. "You see, every shinobi village specializes in one type of ninjutsu. For example the five great villages: Iwa Gakure are the specialists in earth-based ninjutsu, my village, the Hidden Mist, mastered the techniques based on water and ice where as yours were the specialists in fire jutsus. Finding a shinobi that could use a different type of ninjutsu that is his village specialty is almost impossible… not to mention finding a whole clan. But Monodane's case was a bit different…"

"The members of my clan gain the ability to use any type of ninjutsu" continued Naraku. "Of course, there were special requirements, but still the greatest masters of the Monodane were able to use fire, water, earth, wind and thunder all at once. Moreover every child was born with a talent to use one of those five elements…"

"So you're skilled in any form of ninjutsu?" Hinata's eyes widen.

"Not exactly…" replied Naraku.

"You see the five elements used in most ninjutsu styles are called the full circle…" began explaining Yari. "The circle is separated into five domains, one for every element. At least that's what the Monodane think. Naraku's bloodline limit does allow him to learn techniques from every domain, but it also throws limits at him. In order to access another domain, he must master the previous. Because of that the Monodane bloodline gives every child a talent for one element, dependable on its inborn abilities…"

"Those who are born with extraordinary endurance have the talent to master earth and as long as they won't master that domain, they can't even think about using jutsus based on a different element. And mastering one domain takes from five to ten years… at best" announced Naraku.

"So what kind of inborn abilities do you gotta have to master every domain?" asked Naruto with curiosity.

"As said endurance gives you talent for earth…" began Naraku. "Those who are born with a runner's body are talented in wind domain as it's the symbol of speed. Those who have a high chakra level are destined to master the water ninjutsu as that element resembles chakra in most ways and those with greater strength are assigned to fire. The children which doesn't show any special abilities, though such were born rarely, are masters of thunder as it combines the abilities of four, other elements, but in the same time doesn't give the same power."

"And which element was assigned to you when you were born, Naraku-kun?" asked Hinata.

"Fire…" replied the brown-haired boy shortly.

"Okay, so now we know what's so special about your bloodline limit, but why was your clan wiped out because of it?" wondered the whisker-marks. "I mean, something like that is a great weapon… why would anyone in Konoha decide to get rid of it?"

"It wasn't the Leaf's idea to destroy the Monodane…" explained Naraku. "At least not exactly. During the great, shinobi war, my clansmen were send to front line as they were Konoha's secret weapon and a thumb card for that matter. Many were killed during those times. When the war finally ended, few of my family was still alive… I was born few years later… and pretty much that's when things started to get complicated…"

"About a month after my birth, I was assigned to fire domain and my father, the head of the clan, made a decision that he'll train me himself…" he continued after a short break. "Once I learned how to walk my training began. In the meantime, my sister was born. My older brother went to the Academy… everything seemed to be going well… but I've learned the hard way that when something seems like it, it's rarely like it…"

"Once I've turned ten and became a jounin, traitory took place… well, from what you've heard you can tell that my clan's bloodline limit was something that any village would like to have… I guess it's kinda similar to your Byakugan…" with that he gave Hinata a sad glare. "Anyway, the ones that were most interested in gaining access to full circle turned out be stone-nins… however, after the great, shinobi war have ended, the Tsuchikage didn't want to risk another, because the Iwa suffered much damage during their fights with the Leaf… of course Konoha suffered just as much but that's another story…"

"So the Stone decided to kidnap one of the clan heirs, right?" interrupted Naruto. "That's how it was with the Cloud and Hinata…"

"Really?" Naraku gave the white-eyed girl a surprised look as he slightly nodded, blushing a bit. "Well, it's not a memory a kid would like to have, but I still think it's better then how things turned out for my clan… the Iwa didn't really had problems in getting the bloodline limit… because my brother decided to give it to them…"

"He betrayed Konoha?" whisker-marks eyes widen.

"Yeah…" replied the brown-head as he looked away. "But the worst was still to come. The Stone had their full circle and the Tsuchikage was willing to stop at that… my brother however had better ideas… to make his position stronger, he decided to become the only inheritor of our bloodline limit… during the time my sister and I were with our parents on a mission, he attacked the Monodane estate and killed every, single person in it…"

Naruto lowered his sight, Hinata covered her mouth not to let out a scream. Naraku's eyes became dull, still he held back his emotions. At that time the girl called Tamao walked closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

The brown-head smiled at her and the continued: "I was mad… at all costs I've decided to bring my brother to the ultimate justice… so I left Konoha in order to find and kill him… soon after I became a missing-nin… I'm still looking for him… the last info I've heard about him is that he's somewhat related to an organization called Juusan Akuma… for the past, two years I was gathering information about them…"

"That's also the reason why we're heading west…" added the one called Yari. "We've heard that there's high hope for us to find a trace of the Juusan Akuma there…"

"Okay, I understand why you wanna get your brother…" announced Naruto, turned to Naraku. "But why are you traveling together? You're from different villages and there's a war going right now… the sight is most… unexpected…"

"Well, let's just say that, in a way, all of us owe Naraku something…" responded Kasumi.

"Anyways, we should get going…" stated the brown-haired boy. "It was nice to met you, but we need to get to our destination as soon as possible, so…"

"We're going with you!" yelled Naruto.

"What?" Naraku's eyebrow went up.

"Seems like you guys could use some help…" explained the blonde. "Plus, Leaf shinobies should stick together. Isn't that right, Hinata?" he asked his companion.

"I… I guess so…" she replied quietly.

"Wait, Naraku-sama…" interrupted the green-head. "I have nothing against them and all, but… you saw this blonde's level… we all due respect to his abilities, the leaders of the Juusan Akuma will crush him if he'll have to face them… if they'll tag along, they'll only find death…"

"Hinako's got a point…" nodded the brown-head. "Traveling with us is dangerous…"

"We can take care of ourselves" ensured Naruto. "Besides, everyone could use back up from time to time…"

"Well, I don't mind you guys walking around with us, but the decision is not just mine to make…" announced Naraku. "We'll have a voting…"

"You know my point… I have nothing against you guys though…" said Hinako.

"The blonde didn't shown anything special… I don't think we'll have a big use for him" added Kasumi. "I say leave them by…"

"Company is always welcome…" Yari disagreed as she winked to Naruto. "We should give them a shoot… maybe they'll surprise us?"

"So I guess the decision is up to you, Tamao-chan…" with that Naraku turned to the blonde girl who blushed deeply and started staring at the ground.

"I…" she began shyly as she raised her head to look at the two, leaf-nins. "I… I think that… I mean… it… won't hurt if… we'll allow them to come along… I think…"

"It's decided then!" yelled Naruto with a smile. "We're coming along!"

"Something tells me we're gonna regret this…" Kasumi whispered to Yari.

"It's not that bad… this could be fun, actually…" replied the blue-head with a quiet voice.

"We should get going, the town is two days trip from here and the sooner we get there, the better" announced Naraku. "Move out!" and with that all seven shinobies went on their way.

----------

The night was getting darker. The boy sped up a little as he started to put his cloak on. He was wearing a black fishnet shirt with a green waistcoat on it. He had three, golden earrings in his left ear and black, pineapple haircut. The cloak he was wearing, was black.

The boy turned on the corner and walked right into a dark, blind alley. He sighed slightly and then, without even turning around, he said out loud with a lazy voice: "You've been following me for few hours now… I wanted to lose you, but it seems I'm out of luck… stop this stupid 'cat and mouse' game and show yourselves already…"

A second later, four sound-nins appeared from darkness and walked closer to the boy.

"What do you want?" asked the pineapple guy with his back still turned.

"We know who you are…" announced the leader of the group. "Come with us peacefully…"

"And what if I decline?"

"We'll have to kill you…"

"Really?" asked the boy as he finally turned around. "How troublesome…"

* * *

And that ends chapter two! Hope you liked it and that you'll leave a review once you're done reading. 

Now, for the promised, Naraku profile:

_Name:_ Monodane Naraku

_Name origins:_ 'naraku' can be translated as 'hell' which is thought to be a rather... hot place. SInce Naraku's specialty are fire jutsus, I've figure this name will be suitable for him (other names related to fire wasn't exacly of my likings). As for his last name, 'monodane' means simply 'element'... since Naraku's clan has access to all, five element, I've decided that this will fit.

_Birth Date:_ 2nd of November

_Bloodtype:_ AB

_Height:_ 1,86 m

_Weight:_ 78 kg

_Rank:_ hard to say... when he left Konoha, he was a jounin, but became a missing-nin... his level seems to be at least that of an ANBU though...

_Village:_ Konoha (Hidden Leaf)

_Techniques (used so far):_ Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Skill)

_Favorite food:_ ramen (Naruto will be pleased)

_Favorite color:_ red

_Family:_ there's not much info about his clan... all that's said that most of his clan members made it to the ANBU... currently, the only Monodane alive are him and his siblings: his sister Misora, who's a year younger then him, and his brother Resshin, two years older.

And this concludes this chapter totally. Now then, just because I won't be able to update this year, I'd like to wish you all:

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

See you on the next update... hopefully.


	3. Shadow Showdown

Hey guys, it's me again. With the extremely little free time I have lately (due to my exams) I was able to dig out just enough to submit this. I don't even have time to double check it so please forgive me any grammar or spelling mistakes in this one. Also, I'm afraid that the chances of the fourth chapter appearing before February are zero. Sorry, but collage really gives me a hard time lately.

I hope you'll enjoy this one (it was changed a bit due to some request from the reviewers). Here we go.

**Disclaimer:** I owe Naruto… an apology… and that's about everything I own in this case…

**Chapter #3: Shadow Showdown**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Naruto is playing fetch with a baby fox

Naruto, Hinata and their new companions reached the city that Naraku told them about around the evening. Here they were supposed to find his contact that had some information about Juusan Akuma. The city turned out to be one of the biggest the loud mouth ninja have seen so far: all the buildings were made out of white brick and here and there high towers could be spotted, giving an impression they were reaching the sky. A lot of decorations made the streets more colorful.

Tamao shyly explained, since they were now on Stone Country land, which was her home, that it was the time of a celebration: an anniversary of the day when the second Tsuchikage defeated the six-tailed demon, Kaku, who plundered the land few decades to the past. Hinata noticed that when she was telling them that story, she became a bit sad, yet decided not to alert anyone.

Under Tamao's advisement everyone took their headbands off. According to the former stone-nin, Earth Country wasn't too happy with shinobies since the Great War after Konoha destruction broke out.

"Earth Country suffered great damage after Orochimaru and his ninjas invaded the Iwa…" she explained, pausing from time to time. "Even though we were able to force them back, they still plunder the land and due to the lost of warriors we couldn't go after them. That's why our lord and the rest of the people became unfriendly with shinobies… just like that they forgot Nidaime's sacrifice and turned against us…"

They walked through the streets, earning death glares from some of the people who seemed to noticed who they were.

"Three rooms…" Naraku announced as they were renting rooms in one of the city's hotels. "Two with two beds each and one with three. We'll like to rent them for a week at best. How much will that be?"

The receptionist gave him the prize and the former leaf-nin picked out a small sack of golden coins, placing it on the table. The receptionist took the bag and gave him three keys.

"Okay, Naruto and I will take one room, since we're the only guys here…" announced Naraku, putting the first key in his pocket. "Kasumi, Hinako and Yari, you'll have the second…" with that he gave the green-head the key, making her blush slightly and hugging the 'gift' with a smile. Naraku's eye-brow went up but a second later he snapped out of it and turned to the remaining, shy girls: "Hinata-chan, Tamao-chan, you'll share the last room… hope that suits you…"

"It's o-okay… Naraku-kun" replied the blonde, taking the key from him. "R-right, Hinata-chan?" the white-eyed girl only nodded.

"I suggest we all have a goodnight rest" announced the former leaf-nin. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day…" and with that they all headed to their rooms.

----------

"Tamao-chan…" Hinata started the conversation once the two of them closed the door to their room. "May I… ask you something?" the blonde stared at her and then nodded hesitantly. "I… I'd like to know… why you decided to travel with Naraku-san and your, other companions…"

"When I joined him…" began Tamao slowly, trying to choose the right words. "He was still traveling alone… and about the question why I decided to accompany him… guess it's because he… he wanted me too…"

"He… wanted you too?" repeated the Hyuuga heiress. "I don't understand… why did that…"

"It's… complicated" announced the stone-nin, lowering her head. "And I'd prefer not to talk about it… c-could you let it go?" the white-eyed girl nodded, but still was curious about the reason for her roommate to travel with a missing-nin from the Leaf.

----------

"What the heck are you doing?" asked Naruto as he caught Naraku quietly walking through the hotel hallway away from their room. "Sneaking out in the middle of the night…"

"Keep it down…" hushed the brown-haired boy, turning around to face the blonde. "I'm just going to see that contact I told you about… alone…"

"Why?"

"He's not good at trusting people" replied Naraku. "He barely trusts me for that matter. How do you think he'll act when a whole group of shinobies will appear before him, demanding information about one of the most dangerous organizations out there? He'll freak out…"

"But you said it yourself that going alone when you're dealing with Juusan Akuma is dangerous" reminded the loud mouth. "At least allow me to go with you as back-up…"

"No! You're more needed here… I'm leaving everyone under your care until I get back, so don't fail my trust, Naruto. Besides, out of all of us I'm the one who has best chances at survival alone if Juusan Akuma appears. And more then that, I'd be their main target, so it's safer for everyone if I'll do this alone. But chill, I'm just going for some information, nothing should happen…"

"You're trusting me with everyone lives?" the blonde was a little confused. "You beat the crap out of me last time and it seems that those chicks you're traveling with believe they're stronger then me, so why…?"

"I'm not saying they're weak" interrupted Naraku. "But there's something in your eyes. Something I once had in mine… I know you'll protect them with all your strength… that's why I'm counting on you…" and with that he headed to the exit.

"Be careful…" Naruto called after him.

"I always am…" replied the brown-haired as a small smirk appeared on his face.

----------

The meeting place turned out to be an old bar made out of wood. As Naraku entered most of the people gathered inside glared at him. The inside was rather dark and the few, rusty chandeliers hanging above the ceiling were the only things that kept that place from turning into a black hole. The smell coming from the bar hit his nose and made him fight with himself in order not to threw-up.

Naraku looked around for few moments before he spotted the one from whom he was supposed to get information about Juusan Akuma. His contact turned out to be a man in his late thirties with black hair and a beard surrounding his mouth. He was wearing grey and white outfit, from which condition you could tell it saw better days.

The former leaf-nin walked over to the man's table and bowed slightly to the grown-up: "It's been quite a while, hasn't it… Daisuke-san?"

"Indeed it has, Naraku-san…" nodded the man without even getting up. He gestured the boy to sit down and so he did. Once the brown-haired did as asked, the man continued: "It is a great favor you ask of me, Naraku-san. I am grateful for what you did for me and my family, but I'm risking the lives of not only myself, but them as well…"

"I know and I thank you for it. I promise no-one will find out from who I got the information. That is why I left my companions behind… now, please tell me what you know…"

----------

"Why aren't you sleeping, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata as she entered the roof of the hotel they stopped in on which Naruto was sitting. "Bad dreams?"

"Yeah…" nodded the blonde. "I've been having them for a while now…"

"Don't worry… I can relate, coz I'm having the same dreams" with those words she sat down next to her crush. They both looked at the starry night sky. They kept quiet for few minutes, before she decided to break the silence: "Where's Naraku-kun? I've noticed he's not in your room. Did something happened?"

"Nothing important" assured Naruto. "He should return before morning…"

"That will be too late for you, however…" came a voice and as they turned around, they noticed a hooded man with shining, yellow eyes. "I don't recall any information about you two traveling with that Naraku guy, but that doesn't matter… you're still his companions and as such it is my duty to dispose of you…"

"Boy did you picked the wrong people…" announced the blonde with a smile. "I take it you have no idea how we are… allow me to introduce myself. My name is…"

"…Uzumaki Naruto!" came a voice from behind the hooded man and before he was able to turn around, he received a powerful punch in the face from another whisker-marks. The one who threw the hit, disappeared in the cloud of white smoke.

"I sensed you a while ago!" announced the real one as he jumped into the air with his kunai ready. "That's the reason why I came to the roof in the first place! And that's also why I left one of my clones to stay in the shadows and attack when you least expect it" and with that he stabbed the man in his chest.

Naruto jumped back to stand next to Hinata as the hooded man slowly got back to his feet. Surprisingly, he was laughing. "Very good…" he clapped his hands few times. "I see that I might have underestimated you… I do hope you know more tricks then that, because I couldn't find a real challenge in few years…" and with that his hood felt to the ground empty.

Hinata turned around instantly and aimed her palm at the man's chest, who was now standing behind them. The attack connected, however the figure changed into a shadow and a moment later disappeared in the darkness of the night.

"What the…?" began the blonde, shocked.

"Kumori Kessoku…" came a voice and as the two leaf-nins turned in the direction it came from, they saw a man with long, blonde hair, made into dreadlocks, with shining, yellow eyes and fang-like teeth in his mouth. He was wearing a black battle suit with an partial armor on it (_A/N: hard for me to describe… but it's not that different from the battle suit of the Hokage's_). What stunt the two the most though was the fact that he had a slashed headband on his forehead with the symbol of the Leaf. "It was my clans bloodline limit… now that I'm the last survival, I guess this ability is known only to me and Hinato-chan… since no-one else who saw it every got a chance to tell anyone about it…"

"Underestimating us is the biggest mistake you can do…" announced Naruto as he performed a quick set of hand seals. "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and before their eyes five blondes took the place of one.

"Sorry, but I'm not the type of guys who gets caught by the same trick twice…" announced the man, smiling as he began a chain of hand seals of his own.

"Funny… my old sensei used to say the same thing…" stated Naruto as his clones charged at the former leaf-nin.

But just then the dreadlock finished his jutsu and after calling out "Kumori Tsume!" a hand with sharp claws former itself out of the shadows and cut one of the clones, making it disappear in the cloud of white smoke.

The second clone threw a punch in the man's face, he did side-stepped in though and gave the bushin a hit in the back of it's head, dispelling it as well.

The third one aimed a kick in the man's head, but the former leaf-nin bended back, thus avoiding the hit. He wasn't able to dodge the kick of the fourth clone though, that connected with his back and send him flying into the sky a bit. That was enough for Naruto.

He came at the man from above with the Rasengan in his hand. Not being able to dodge in mid-air, the man performed a quick set of hand seals again. "Kumori Tanken!" and before the loud-mouth knew it tens of shadow daggers formed themselves around the man and flew right at him.

Being in the same situation as his opponent, the whisker-marks couldn't dodge and in an instant got pierced by the shadow daggers, which made him cry out in pain and dispel his technique. The man smirked under his nose as he was coming closer to the ground. His smirk disappeared instantly as the young shinobi disappeared in the cloud of white smoke.

"_That was a bushin too?_" his shining eyes widen as he looked back and saw that the real Naruto was waiting at him bellow, with another Rasengan. "_So this was all a distraction so I wouldn't notice that the real attack will be coming from under. With wasting so much time on the Shadow Dagger I won't be able to perform another jutsu… that brat actually…_" but before he could finish his phrase the roof under Naruto's feet exploded, sending the boy flying and making the man saved at the same time.

Naruto landed on his feet and instantly Hinata stood next to him, her Byakugan still activated. She was staring in front of them and as the blonde followed her sight, he noticed their female companions standing there, all with small bruises or cuts. The only one who was not harmed, was Tamao.

Further out front was a huge, black panther (_A/N: the size of Gamabunta and Toramaru_). And there, on the top of its head stood a girl who seemed to be just few years older then them. She had long, red hair and dark blue eyes. She wore a white t-shirt (_A/N: once more Naruto's attention was drawn to the girls… wreck_) with a black lotus on its back and blue pants. She had a slashed hitae-ate on her forehead with the symbol of Kumo Gakure.

"Dammit, I hit that thing with most of my kunais…" announced Kasumi as she stared at the large cat. "Why doesn't it dispel? It's a summoned beast, right?"

"There has to be some trick behind it…" replied Yari, who helped herself up with her spear. "And combined with her abilities, she's a really troublesome opponent…"

"Allow me to… I mean…" began Tamao, but she was instantly interrupted by Hinako:

"No, Tamao… you know it's too dangerous… besides, I haven't even used my bloodline yet…" and with that she took off her metal ring. "Alright sis, lets get this fight started!"

"_Sis?_" Hinata's eyes widen. "_That red-haired girl is Hinako-san's sister?_"

"I'm disappointed in you… Hanone" the red-head didn't even seemed to pay attention to the green-haired girl and turned to the blonde man. "I was hoping that you'd dispose of those two brats by now…"

"Forgive me, Hinato-chan…" begged the man jumping onto the cats head. "I underestimated that whisker-marks kid… but I see you got wounded…" with that he pointed at a small cut on her arm. "Which one o them did it? I'll rip her apart!"

"Chill, Hanone…" commended the girl and surprisingly to Naruto, the man listen immediately. "Those hags are a little better the I expected, that's all… but fun time is over" and as she said so a group of hooded man started to jump out of the shadows, surrounding Naruto and his companions. "As much as I'd love to be the one who kills you, sis, I must admit that it's Naraku who's are main target and we can afford wasting more chakra on weaklings like you… I'll see you in hell…"

Naruto and the girls stood back to back, surrounding Tamao. Hinata had her Byakugan activated, which allowed her to have a better look at the whole situation: "Around thirty shinobies…" she announced. "Five times more then us…"

"Six times…" corrected Kasumi. "Tamao will not fight…"

"Why?" demanded the blonde.

"Coz we say so!" replied Hinako with a harsh voice, but then added softly: "Naraku-sama forbid her too unless it's necessary… and it's not. But before all of this, I guess I own you an apology, pinhead: you seemed to take care of that Hanone guy by yourself and got out without a scratch when the three of us got a hard time with my sister… you're not as bad as I thought…"

"Told you so…" reminded Yari with a smile as she winked to the leaf-nin who was standing right next to her. "But for now we should concentrate on the battle… at the current situation I believe that holding back any more isn't the smartest thing to do…"

"Yeah…" nodded Kasumi as she put away her katana and reached out for a large scroll. "Let's show them how strong we really are…"

"Fine…" agreed Hinako as the metal ring she held in her hand suddenly got surrounded with electricity. "But leave my sister to me…"

"Deal…" replied Yari with a smirk, spinning her spear in her hand. "Hey, cutie…" with that she turned to Naruto and gain an angry glare from Hinata. "Now's the time you'll get to see our true strength, so you and your girlfriend can sit back and relax…"

"Like we'll let you have all the fun, right Hinata-chan?"

The girl only nodded and got to her fighting stance.

Hinako threw them a glare and smiled under her nose. "_Naraku-sama, now I know what you meant… that blonde, he is so much like the old you… he even seem to have the same 'strength' as you… maybe he can do IT?_" and with that she decided to speak up: "Do as you guys wish, just don't get in our way…"

"An old friend of mine used to say the same thing" announced Naruto. "And it always pissed me off…" and with that he jumped right at the hooded men.

----------

"That's all I know…" announced Daisuke as she slowly began to get up. "Hope it'll be helpful, Naraku-san…"

"It's more then enough…" assured the former leaf-nin as he got up as well. But then, suddenly, he turned around to the main entrance and after a short silence, he said to the man without even turning back to him: "You should go out by the back door… just in case…"

"I see…" nodded Daisuke. "Best of luck to you, Naraku-san…" and after a quick bow he disappeared in the crowd.

A boy in a black, fishnet shirt and a green waistcoat, with pineapple haircut just walked in the bar. He looked around and jumped back just in time to avoid the kick aimed at his head. He glared in the direction the attack came and stopped a certain brown-haired boy in his age with metal protectors on his hands and a shinobi headband on his forehead.

"A Leaf shinobi?" the pineapple boy asked, rising his eyebrow.

"Was…" replied Naraku shortly.

"A missing-nin then… if Konoha existed I guess it'd be my duty to take you back to the village, but at the current situation it's not only not required, but even not possible… I didn't came here to fight you…"

"Why are you here then?" questioned the other boy.

"You're not gonna let this go, are you?" sighed the fishnet guy. "It'd be troublesome, especially since I fought just yesterday…" but he prepared his kunai nonetheless.

"And you're not gonna surrender…" noticed Naraku. "Guess we'll just do it the old, fashioned way…"

* * *

And that's that for now. Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review once you're done.

Also, I planned to make a character profile on the OC's next time so if you want any, specific one to be describe, let me know. And if there are any info you believe that should be in the profile, also tell me and it'll be considered.

And lastly, sorry for a bit lame jutsu encyclopedia this time, but I really have little free time on my hands. I promise to describe all the jutsus mentioned bellow next time:

_Kumori Kessoku_ (Shadow Unity)

_Kumori Tsume_ (Shadow Claw)

_Kumori Tanken_ (Shadow Dagger)

Okay, I should end this. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll sacrifice some of your time to review. Take care and till the next time… hopefully.


	4. Family Connection

Well, my exams are official over (got the final result today) so from today I'm free for awhile. I'm not promising anything, but with all that I may even be able to update this one faster then in a month time. Do keep in mind that I'm not promising it.

To answer your reviews:

_**Your grammar sucks:**_ I know... I seriously do and I am trying my best to keep it on an at least acceptable level. The position of beta reader is open so anyone who feels like it is welcome to become one. At least this time I was able to double check it... it's probably still filled with mistakes, but I'm really doing my best.

**_Too many secrets:_** well, I can assure you that they will all be revealed in the right time... some quite soon even.

**_Too many fights, too little romance:_** yeah, that I know, but I can promise you that once the battle this fic is currently on is finished, the action will slow down a bit and you'll see more romance... also some secrets and history of my OC's will be revealed... all you'll need to do is hold on just a little more for that.

Some of you may not like what's coming in this chappie, but I can promise you that it has it's purpose...

Now, without further to do:

**Chapter #4: Family Connection**

**Chapter Cover:** Naruto dressed like a gangster from the old Chicago, with the hat and everything, sitting behind the desk with a cigarette in his mouth and flipping a coin

Naraku jumped back and lightly hitting one of the chandeliers, he landed on the table. The pushed chandelier moved back and forward, making the light in the tavern shake. The former leaf-nin observed the floor on which there was still a shadow that came from the pineapple haired boy.

"_So this is his ability…_" Naraku wondered to himself as his raised his sight at the boy. "_If I'll allow his shadow to get me, I'm done for… more then that he can change its shape and use any shadows to increase his range… with such a dim light in here his jutsu practically has no limits… unless I'll get out of here, I'll lose this fight…_"

Shikamaru performed another chain of hand seals and as he completed it, he called out: "Kagekui!" and right before Naraku's eyes his shadow turned into tens of spikes that came right at him.

The former leaf-nin instantly jumped into the air and grabbed the chandelier, but seeing that the shadow spikes were still chasing him he turned up-side down and using the ceiling as the floor, he ran in the direction of Shikamaru.

The lazy shinobi just smiled seeing that and the moment Naraku ran into the dark part of the tavern, he prepared himself to perform his standard jutsu, however the former leaf-nin was faster.

In a fracture of a second Naraku perform a set of hand seals and with the last symbol he called out: "Hinote Kuiki: Hibashira no Jutsu!" and instantly a powerful wave of fire came out of his mouth straight at Shikamaru.

The lazy shinobi immediately jumped back, cursing to himself: "_So he's a fire expert… damn, with those sort of jutsus he can enlighten the whole place and my strategy to get him by the domination of shadows in this tavern becomes useless..._"

Naraku landed safely on the floor with a smirk appearing on his face: "Looks like this is far from over, isn't it?"

"Looks like it…" nodded Shikamaru. "How troublesome…"

----------

Kasumi bite her finger and instantly wrote the required symbol on the scroll. A second later she unwrapped the scroll as it was a carpet and placed it on the ground. The effect was immediate: before everyone's eyes a tornado raised from the scroll and on its borders spun tens of shurikens, kunais and other, sharp objects.

The former mist-nin smirked as she called out: "Hijutsu: Aka Yaiba!" and as the tornado went right at the hooded shinobies, she once more began writing on the scroll and a second later a small scythe was summoned.

As it circled in the air, Kasumi grabbed it by the handle and jumped into the air. As she was coming down at her enemies she threw a single shuriken at them and to everyone's surprise performed a quite set of hand seals with one hand: "Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Instantly the single shinobi star she threw separated into tens, wounding most of her opponents. Most of those who were able to dodge the shurikens got captured in the tornado and got ripped into pieces by the weapons circling with it.

As she landed on the ground she instantly cut the nearest enemy that got hit by the most of shurikens, ending his life. A moment later she jumped into the air again and spinning wildly she deflected all the kunais that were thrown at her with her scythe.

Hinata spun around, creating a small, chakra sphere around her that stopped all the shurikens that were coming at her. As she began to slow down she called out: "Hakke Shou Kaiten" and instantly all of the shinobi stars got blown away to a huge amazement of the hooded shinobies that decided to attack her.

Not waiting for her opponents to regain the touch with reality she got into her fighting stance and choosing the unlucky one that was the closest to her, she attacked his tanketsu points at an incredible speed, calling out: "Hakke Nisho! Yonsho! Hassho! Jurokusho! Sanjunisho!" and as her speed reached its top, she finished the job: "Rokujuyonsho!"

As her opponent felt to the ground, unable to move, Hinata spun around on her foot and launched her hand into the air, releasing chakra at the same time. A moment later, the enemy that stood few meters away got hit by a powerful blow that seemed to came out of nowhere.

"Hakke Kuushou…" announced the Hyuuga heiress calmly. "It works just like the Jyuken, only on a distance..." and with that she got to her fighting stance once more.

Yari spun around on her foot and as she found herself behind the opponent that charged at her, she attacked his legs with her spear. As the stick hit the target, her enemy left out a yell of pain and losing his balance, felt on his back with his eyes looking at the former sand-nin.

Instantly she placed her spear behind her back in order to block the incoming katana with it and once the two weapons connected, she performed few hand seals, just like Kasumi single handed, and called out: "Fuuton: Tenma Kaze no Jutsu!" and before the one who attacked her noticed, a powerful tornado appeared, surrounding the former sand-nin and a moment later he was taken away by it.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Naruto called out as four clones appeared right next to him and they all charged at their opponents. The hooded shinobies tried to withstand the assault, but they all were soon knockout by the blondes with whisker-marks.

"We may have underestimated them, Hinato-chan…" announced Hanone to his partner as they both stood on top of the panther and looked at the battle from afar. "Should we re-join the fight?"

"Whether you wish to our not…" they both heard a voice and a moment later Hinako came right from above with her ring ready. "… I'll make you!" she finished and as she left her weapon fall down a powerful thunder came from the sky at her sister.

As the flash disappeared and his vision became a bit less blur, Hanone noticed his partner standing in a defensive position with her metal gloves with claws ready. "_So, she decided to use her bloodline limit already?... I guess I shouldn't worry about her then… I'll finish what I've started with that blonde then…_" and with that he jumped off the panther and landed safely on his feet just few meters in front of Naruto.

"You again…" noticed Naruto a little irritated. "You came so I could finish kicking your ass or do you wanna surrender?"

"Nothing from the above, I'm afraid…" announced the missing-nin. "This time around I'll go all out, so prepare yourself to get killed…' and with that he performed a quick set of hand seals, ended with a call: "Kagekui!"

"_What?_" the whisker-marks eyes widen. "_But that's Shikamaru's technique… how did he…_" was al he could think of as he jumped back, avoiding certain death. Few of the shadow spikes created by Hanone were able to wound him a bit. The blonde cursed under his nose as he raised his head to look at the former leaf-nin again.

"Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" called out Naruto as he performed his standard technique.

"An idiot with one move…" smirked Hanone as three Naruto's charged right at him. "I told you already that I'm not the type of guy who'll fall for the same trick twice…" and with that he performed hand seals of his own: "Kumori Hitoya!' and with that he slammed his hand to the ground.

Before Naruto knew it, shadows shoot from under his feet and circling around him, grabbed him, making him stop. The two clones got distracted by that for a second, but that was all Hanone needed.

Performing another set of hand seals he called out: "Kagekui!' and instantly both clones got pierced by the shadow spikes and disappeared in the cloud of white smoke. "And that's that…" announced Hanone simply as he walked closer to the whisker-marks. "And to think I thought you could give me a challenge…"

"Sorry to disappoint you… I'll do better this time…" and right before Hanone's eyes his Shadow Prison got thorn into pieces and Naruto came right at him with Rasengan in his hand.

"_Damn, I totally forgot about that stupid, chakra orb… it doesn't require any seals so he can perform it even with his hands imprison… those sort of techniques won't do then…_" and with that last thought he received a powerful blow in the stomach from the Rasengan.

But to Naruto's surprise his body broke into tiny pieces of shadows and just like that his opponent was gone. "_It has something to do with that bloodline of his… what the hell is his ability?_" he asked himself as he looked around for the former leaf-nin.

Hinata landed a powerful blow in another opponents stomach, thus sending him into unconsciousness.

"And I think that's the last of those guys…" announced Kasumi as she looked around. "Is everyone alright?"

"Seems like it, but we should go help out Hinako…" replied Yari. "She went to face her sister on her own… plus, Naruto-kun is fighting that other blonde…"

"_Since when is she allowed to call Naruto-kun by 'kun?_" Hinata gave the former sand-nin another, evil glare, but still said nothing. A moment later they all heard a loud yell coming from the top of he panther and before they knew it, they saw Hinako falling down to the ground motionless.

Suddenly a huge hand made of rocks appeared and grabbed the former cloud-nin softly before he hit the ground. The hand then gently placed her near her companions before it disappeared. Kasumi gave Tamao an angry look and a second later she shoot out: "What are you doing? Have you already forgotten what Naraku said?"

"I… I'm sorry… I just…" began the former stone-nin, lowering her head.

"Hey, leave her alone, she saved the greenhead!" yelled Naruto. "But what happened to her?" he asked and only then noticed a hit mark on the girl's face. "What the…?" was all he could say before they all noticed that the panther got dispelled and now two figures stood in front of them.

One was Hinato with her metal gloves on which her claws were surrounded with electricity. The other was a hooded man, but not the same Naruto fought. A moment later Hanone appeared in front of the two and giving a quick bow, he announced: "There really was no need for your presence here… Resshin-sama…"

"_Resshin-sama?_" repeated Hinata as her eyes widen. "_The older brother of Naraku-san?_"

The hooded man finally threw away his cloak, thus revealing himself. The man seemed to be around two years older then them. He had medium-length, brown hair, made into dreadlocks that were partly falling on his face. His eyes were green and you could see that his left eye-brow was pierced by a single earring. He wore a black t-shirt and a brown waistcoat on that and black gloves with no fingers. Due to the fact that his hands were almost completely uncovered, you could tell that he was full of muscles. He had long, black pants with metal protectors on his knees. Naruto also spotted two katanas attached to his back, both handles were visible above the man's left shoulder which was protected, just like his right shoulder for that matter, by another metal protector, filled with small spikes on the outside. He too wore the Konoha headband of his forehead, only the symbol of the Leaf was slashed on it.

"I'm rather disappointed in you Hanone… Hinato… I recall ordering you to kill Naraku while you waste both time and chakra on some low-ranks…" announced the one called Resshin with a clod voice, not paying too much attention to Naruto and his companions.

"Forgive us, Resshin-sama…" this time Hinato bowed. "I think we underestimated your brother's companions… but if you'd allow us to…"

"Enough" ordered the older Monodane in a stoic voice, yet there was something in it that send chills down Hinata's spine. "I'll handle things from here, you just stay alert for my brother… he'll show up here sooner or later…" and with that he turned to the blonde and the five kunoichi. "So you're the people that travel with Naraku? I will never understand his way for choosing comrades…"

"What did you…!" began Naruto, but was instantly interrupted by Kasumi:

"Do you have a death wish?" she asked him. "You couldn't even defeat Naraku and this guy is at least at the same level as him. Attack him and you'll only end up dead…"

"We're as good as dead anyways…" stated Yari. "For the moment he came…"

"_So now what?_" Hinako asked herself shaking. "_Should we allow Tamao to fight? But what if she'll lose it again? Naraku-sama, where are you?_"

Resshin slowly walked towards them with a small smirk on his face. Naruto made two steps back, terrified by just the sense of the chakra coming from within his opponent. "_This feeling… Kasumi wasn't joking, such chakra… that's inhuman… but I gave Naraku my word and at all costs I will protect everyone…_" and with that thought he charged right at the former leaf-nin.

His action seemed to surprised the missing-nin for a moment, it didn't stop him to act instantly: he side-stepped Naruto's attack and raising his right hand he made the blonde crush right into it.

The whisker-marks felt to the ground and immediately got crushed into it even more as Resshin hit him in the stomach with his other hand. The blonde caught up blood and barely breathing laid on the ground as the dreadlocks walked by him and once more headed at the kunoichi.

"Pathetic…" announced the former leaf-nin. "I hope you'll be more of a challenge…" but then his words froze in his throat as he felt an incredible chakra appearing. "_What the…? That's not Naraku, so…_" and with that he turned around to see Naruto getting back to his feet with red chakra surrounding him, forming claws and tails. The blondes eyes turned red and his teeth seemed more like fangs now. "_This brat…?_"

"_That pinhead… he's a Jinchuuriki!_" noticed Hinako with her eyes widen.

"He… he's… he's just like…" began Tamao, backing away a bit.

"Oh, a demon vessel, eh?" asked Resshin, smiling a bit. "I figure that since the war started you guys would be in the frontlines… but since you've gone this far to stop me, I can sacrifice some of my time to check out your skills… come on then, show me the power of the human sacrifice…" and the moment he said so Naruto jumped right him.

Naruto's hand, surrounded by chakra smashed the ground in the place where Resshin stood just a moment ago. The blonde looked to the air, spotting the former leaf-nin firing few shurikens at him. But as the shinobi stars came closer to the whisker-marks, they got blown away, causing no harm to the loud mouth.

"_With chakra alone?_" Resshin's eye-brow went up. "_Quite impressive… I guess this won't do then… I'll have to go to close range combat then…_" and as he landed on the ground, he performed a quick set of hand seals and as he finished, he called out: "Tsuchi Kuiki: Ishihada no Jutsu!"

"_What is that jutsu?_" wondered Hinata as she activated her bloodline limit again and the moment she did so, her eyes widen. "Naruto-kun, he's created a chakra armor!"

"Armor of chakra?" the blonde looked surprised at the girl. "_What the hell is that suppose to give him? Do he really believe that something like that will help him withstand the demon's strength?_" but even with such doubts he charged at his opponent once more.

Resshin began dodging Naruto's furious attacks, blocking few of them as well. Finally he jumped to his left in order distract his opponent, his eyes widen however as the chakra that was surrounding the blonde shoot right at him in the form of another hand with claws.

The hand smashed into his stomach and send him through the stone wall. "_I see, so that sphere around him is not just for the effect… interesting… however, it seems he's still not able to use more then 10 percent of his full strength… a pity…_" and with that he slowly stood up with dirt on his clothes, yet except that, unharmed.

"_Not a scratch?_" Naruto was a bit shock, but didn't show it. "_Is that his chakra armor?_" and with that he jumped to his left and charged at the former leaf-nin from hi right.

As he came closer, small fireballs shoot out of his mouth and headed right at the older Monodane. "_With no hand seals even…_" noticed Resshin as he jumped back, avoiding the hit. "_Such abilities could be useful… I guess I know why the Akatsuki were so desperate to get the Jinchuuriki… I should stop playing around or he may end up defeating me…_" and with that thought he came to a sliding stop.

Sensing that his opponent found himself behind his back, he turned around just to see Naruto slamming a huge orb of red chakra into his stomach, calling out: "Kitsune Rasengan!"

Time seemed to froze for few moments. Resshin bended over a bit and then was send flying at a nearby wall, spinning wildly when he flew. Naruto began breathing heavily as he observed the dust that lifted the moment his opponent crushed into the wall.

"_Naruto-kun won!_" Hinata smiled, but her expression instantly as she noticed the looks on both Hinato's and Hanone's faces. "_Their boss have just been defeated… maybe even killed… how can they stay so calm?_"

The answer to her question revealed itself soon later as all the shinobies gathered heard a mad laugh and then saw Resshin getting back to his feet, still surrounded with the dust that lift itself up. The shirt in the place where Naruto's Rasengan hit him was turned into bit and you could see few, bleeding wounds, but none of them could be even consider a serious injury. Blood dripped also from his mouth but the former leaf-nin seemed to be perfectly fine none the less.

"You're pretty good…" announced Resshin as he wiped the blood from his mouth. "It's been a while since anyone made me feel pain… even more since the last time I bleed. I'm impressed. If you could use your power to the maximum, then who knows, maybe you would be able to kill me… unfortunately, at your current level, you won't be able to do more damage to me then you already had… but to show you my respect for you, I'll give you the taste of my real power…" and with that he instantly performed another chain of hand seal, finished by the call: "Tsuchi Kuiki: Ishi Hakachi no Jutsu!"

Instantly stone spikes started to shoot from under the ground. In order to avoid getting pierced, Naruto jumped into the air, but that was just the thing Resshin needed. In a fracture of a second he appeared behind the Kyuubi vessel and collecting a huge among of chakra in his right fist he punched the blonde right in the face, sending him to ground at an incredible speed.

"Naruto-kun!" yelled both Hinata and Yari as the whisker-marks came closer to the surface.

"_From that height and at that speed if he'll hit the ground…_" began Hinako as he observed her companion coming closer to his death.

Suddenly someone appeared right behind the falling blonde and grabbed him before he hit the ground. Landing safely on the ground with Naruto in his hands, he looked at Resshin with fury in his eyes. That only made the former leaf-nin smile under his nose.

"You kept your promise, Naruto…" announced Naraku as he placed him gently on the ground. "Shikamaru, take care of him…" with that he turned to the lazy shinobi who came with him. "I'll handle my brother…"

"Shikamaru…" Hinata couldn't believe who she was seeing. "You're alive!"

"Yeah…" replied the pineapple head simply. "And glad to see you two are alright as well… Naraku told me you're traveling together, but skipped the details…"

"I guess the reunion will have to wait…" announced Kasumi as all the kunoichi came closer to the leaf-nins. "Now we should take care of those two…" with that she pointed at Naruto and Hinako. "And move to a safer distance…"

"What do you mean, Kasumi-san?" asked Hinata a bit confused.

"We won't be able to help Naraku-kun…" responded Tamao quietly. "The best thing we can do is not interfere…"

"Unfinished business, eh?" asked Resshin as Naraku walked closer to him. "I was wondering when you'll show up. I prefer to kill you anyway… so now you're going to tell me that you'll do what you should have done twelve years ago? Back then you had an important advantage… now I do not think that you killing me is a possibility…"

"We'll see…" replied the younger Monodane as he began to form hand seals. A second later his brother did the same.

* * *

And with that the 4th chapter is finished. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll sacrifice some of your time to write a review with your opinion. 

I know some of you are probably a bit pissed that Naruto once more got defeated rather easily and when he used the Kyuubi even, but I can promise you that his defeat was pretty important to the storyline... and do keep in mind that he fought Resshin who's at a similar level to Naraku.

Well, I won't make character profile this time (I'll keep that for the next chapter)... but that gives you some opportunities: if you want me to make the profile of any, specific character (preferable OC's) write it in your review and you can be sure it'll appear in the closest chapters (the character that will be the most 'popular' will be descriped first, of course). I'm posting the jutsu encyklopedia with the jutsus that were used previous and I didn't had enough free time to write a description for them though. Here goes:

_Kumori Kessoku_ (Shadow Unity) – special ability of Hanone's clan (you'll find out more of it later on). Basically it allows him to control shadow even more effectively then the Nara clan members. By staying touch with the shadows Hanone can perform an instant Kawarimi (he exchanges himself with shadows) without even the use of hand seals. It's only limit is the fact that he can teleport himself to a place with which his shadow has contact. It gives almost unlimited possibilities during the night (of course).

_Kumori Tsume_ (Shadow Claw) – jutsu used by Hanone. Basically it's usage is the same as in any jutsu Shikamaru uses, the only difference is that in this case Hanone gives his shadow a certain shape: a hand with claws.

_Kumori Tanken_ (Shadow Dagger) – jutsu used by Hanone. It's quite similar to his Shadow Claw. The basic difference are the fact that this time he separates his shadow into tiny pieces and sending them at the opponent, makes them form into daggers.

_Kagekui_ – this is one of Shikamaru's new jutsus. I got it from the latest manga chapters and I'm not that familiar with how it works, so in order not to spread false information I'm just mentioning it. As soon as I'll find out some details about it, I'll be sure to let you know (if anyone has some I'll gladly accept them as well).

_Hinote Kuiki: Hibashira no Jutsu_ (Fire Domain: Fire Pillar Skill) – a jutsu that can be used by the members of the Monodane clan who master the Fire Domain. It's usage isn't that different from the Uchiha's Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Grand Fireball Skill)… basically the difference is that in this case the flame is released from the mouth in the form of a wave (kinda like the breath of dragons).

_Hijutsu: Aka Yaiba_ (Secret Skill: Bloody Blades) – jutsu used by Kasumi. A technique invented by the Mist assassins. Basically it works similar as Tenten's summoning weapons from the scroll, the main difference is that in this case the user must send his chakra onto the surface of the scroll and the moment the weapons are summoned he makes his chakra circle, thus creating a powerful tornado that carries all sorts of weapons with itself.

_Hakke Kuushou_ – this is also from the newest manga (there it's used by Neji). The situation is the same as in the Kagekui's case… sorry.

_Fuuton: Tenma Kaze no Jutsu_ (Wind Element: Demonic Wind Skill) – jutsu used by Yari. The user first collects chakra in his feet and then releases it, by performing the right hand seals, in the form of a small tornado. By standing in the eye of the cyclone, the user stays unharmed whereas the opponents that were unluckily to get too close gets carried by the wind.

_Kumori Hitoya_ (Shadow Prison) – jutsu used by Hanone. It's usage is the same as in other case, only this time the shadow takes the form of roots that surrounds the opponent and imprison him (or her).

_Tsuchi Kuiki: Ishihada no Jutsu_ (Earth Domain: Stone Skin Skill) – a technique used by the Monodane clan members who mastered the Earth Domain. Above it's name it is more based on the users endurance. The user releases his chakra from every part of his body, which forms a kind of an armor around his body that lowers the physical damage done to him. The strength of this jutsu (basically just like EVERY Monodane technique) depends of the users own strength and skills.

_Tsuchi Kuiki: Ishi Hakachi no Jutsu_ (Earth Domain: Stone Graveyard Sill) – another Monodane technique from the Earth Domain. The user first sends his chakra into the ground and then, with the use of right hand seals, make it push up stone spikes. Dependable on the users skills, this jutsu can be even used against the whole army!

And I think that's that. Hope you liked it and that you'll stick around to see what happens next.

Take care and hopefully till the next update.


	5. Circle of Life

First: thank you for all the encouraging reviews! I'm glad you enjoy the story so far.

Secondly: because some of you were disappointed that Naruto got defeated again, I can promise you that it was required for the storyline. Moreover, all the Monodane trained since they learned how to walk, so it's only natural they're rather strong (and Resshin did killed almost the entire clan, remember?). The reason why Naruto used only 10 of his power will be explained a bit later (in the closest chapters though).

I think that covers it… after this you'll be able to learn few things about OC's secrets and romance will be more visible as well. Anyways, here's the ultimate, Monodane showdown:

**Chapter #5: Circle of Life**

**_Chapter Cover:_** Naraku and Naruto are standing back to back. The former leaf-nin is holding a Fuuma Shuriken in his left hand and has kunais in his mouth. The blonde is unwrapping the scroll.

"So, I suppose you came here in hope to fulfill that stupid promise of yours, right?" asked Resshin with a smirk. "But you can't hope to win, can you?"

"I've changed since the last time we saw each other" assured Naraku with a cold voice. For a few moments they kept looking at each other and then, in the same second, they both performed chains of different hand seals: "Hinote Kuiki: Ryuumori!" called out the younger Monodane and instantly a large fireball came out of his mouth.

"Tsuchi Kuiki: Ishirou no Jutsu!" and in a fracture of a second thin spikes shoot from underground around Naraku and started to circle around him, binding his legs and arms.

Resshin jumped to his right, thus avoiding the fireball and safely landing on his feet he slowly walked over to his brother, who was completely immobilized: "Seriously Naraku, I thought you'd be more of a challenge… but in the end you'll always keep falling into basics skills…"

"Sorry to disappoint you then…" replied the younger shinobi with a smirk as he disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

"_Kage Bushin?_" Resshin eyes widen a bit. "_But when did he…?_" with that thought he turned around to face a kick launched by his brother. As Naraku's foot connected with his face, the older Monodane slid back a bit. "_Of course, the one that appeared was a bushin from the very beginning… the original stayed behind to catch me off guard… but you know, brother…_" with that he turned around and grabbed Naraku that suddenly appeared behind him by the neck: "I'm not the type to get fooled by the same trick twice… if you'd command your clone to attack me with something more powerful then a mere kick, I might have not noticed that that was a bushin too… you're still very disappointing…"

"Yeah well, you forget one thing…" announced Naraku as he grabbed his brother by his shirt with his left hand. "Since you're holding me, you won't move…" and instantly he began performing another set of hand seals with his right hand alone. "Hinote Kuiki: Kasai Yari!" and in a fracture of a second a powerful, fire spear shoot from his middle and index finger right into Resshin's stomach, sending him flying back. "_Damn that Stone Skin of his… if I won't find a way to get through it, I won't be able to do any, real damage to him…_"

The missing-nin landed safely on a wall and stick to it with his chakra. "Well, you did learned a few tricks in the end… but still you cannot defeat me at your current level… maybe I should show you how the fire domain should be used?" and with that he began performing new hand seals: "Hinote Kuiki: Makai Arashi!" and before anyone knew it a powerful, fire wave came from his mouth, heading straight at Naraku.

Before the younger Monodane could react to that, he got surrounded by a circle of fire. "_Not good, there's no way out… only one thing to do then…_" and with that he began performing his own set of hand seals.

"Naraku-sama!" yelled Hinako from the top of a nearby building as she observed the firestorm bellow. "How can that Resshin guy be so powerful? I thought Naraku-sama was the strongest… but this guy's strength is inhuman…"

"Will… will Naraku-kun manage?" asked Tamao worried.

"We can't help him, if that's what you're thinking…" reminded Kasumi. "If we try to interfere in anyway, we'll only make things worse, coz Naraku would have to worry about us to… but do not worry, he still haven't used his thumb card…"

"And what's with that Naruto kid?" asked Hinako, turning around to see the blonde lying on Hinata's lap unconscious with Shikamaru and Yari sitting right beside her.

"He should be fine…" replied the lazy ninja. "He just used up a lot of chakra…"

"That's good to know…" announced the green-head quietly as she turned around to look at the two Monodane fighting again.

"Mizu Kuiki: Gogyou Haretsu!" Naraku called out and before Resshin noticed a huge, water gazer shoot out from the place his brother stood, carrying the younger sibling on top of it. As the water fell on the ground, it started to extinguish the firestorm around.

"_So, he was able to master the second domain it seems…_" Resshin thought to himself, smiling. "_This is getting better and better…he may even push me to reach out for my special surprise…_" and with that he began forming more hand seals.

Naraku did the same as he came to the ground. The younger Monodane finished first and called out: "Mizu Kuiki: Tsurara Misairu no Jutsu!" and instantly the water that was still shooting from under ground formed a spike which got frozen and launched right at Resshin.

The missing-nin jumped from the wall and landing on the incoming icicle he finished his chain of hand seals: "Hinote Kuiki: Ryuumori!" and as the fireball left his mouth he jumped off the ice spike which crashed into the wall he was standing on just a second ago.

Naraku jumped back, avoiding being burnt into ashes and when he was still in mid-air he heard his brother's voice coming from behind: "Tsuchi Kuiki: Hakachi no Jutsu!"

The younger Monodane looked back and noticed another Resshin, who just finished performing the jutsu and stone spikes started to shoot from under the ground, coming right at the defenseless Naraku. "_Kage Bushin! He must've created the clone when that firewall blocked my view… then he used the Dragon Lance to make me jump back, thus making me unable to dodge… this is bad…_" and with that last thought his body got pierced by one of the stone spikes.

Resshin landed on the ground and dispelled the clone which performed the Stone Graveyard. He looked up to his brother and then, with a smirk appearing on his face, he said out loud: "Not too original, Naraku… where are you?" and just then the younger sibling's body turned into a wooden pale.

"Resshin-sama, above you!" yelled Hinato, who was standing far away on another roof-top.

The missing-nin look up just in time to see Naraku finishing another set of hand seals: "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" and instantly a huge fireball left the boy's mouth, covering the place Resshin stood with flames.

"_Such power…_" Hinata's eyes widen at the sight. "_That's Sasuke's technique and still Naraku-san manage to perform a much more powerful version then the member of the Uchiha clan…just how strong are the Monodane? And… how can I even think about matching them?_"

As the flames cleared and Naraku was slowly coming to the ground, he noticed that Resshin disappeared. "_He must've hid underground… but what for, with his Stone Skin, he'd probably just get few, more serious burns… nothing he couldn't have handle…_"

When his feet finally reached the ground, he spotted his brother on top of a nearby building, smiling: "Well, you really did learn few things since the last time we saw each other… you've gotten stronger, I'll give you that, but in the end you're still a brat that presents no danger to me…" and the moment he said so Naraku got trapped in a 'nelson' from the behind by another clone of Resshin.

"See, you kept falling for the most basic tricks…" announced the missing-nin calmly. "It's been fun, but I have better things to do, so hope you won't mind me ending this…" and with that her performed another set of hand seals. With the last symbol his right hand got surrounded with flames and as a smirk appeared on his face, he charged at Naraku, calling out: "Hinote Kuiki: Kasai Genko!"

As he got closer, Naraku bounced his feet of the ground and freeing himself from the grip, he propped his hands on Resshin clone's shoulders. The missing-nin wasn't able to stop fast enough and hit his clone in the stomach, making it disappear in the cloud of white smoke.

The younger Monodane spun around and launched a powerful kick in his brothers face, thus sending the surprised, former leaf-nin flying back.

Resshin was able to land safely on his feet though and as he looked up, Naraku notice that he's still smirking. Then he turned around to see another clone of Resshin, aiming a fist at him.

As the punch connected with his face, he was send flying right at his brother, who gather a huge among of chakra in his right hand and launched a punch in Naraku's stomach. Being unable to dodge or block, the younger Monodane received a powerful blow in the gut, which send him flying again, hitting Resshin's clone and smashing hard against a nearby wall, coughing out blood at the same time.

"Naraku-kun!" Tamao turned away, seeing her friend being defeated.

"And so it ends, Naraku…" stated Resshin coldly.

"I couldn't agree with you more…" replied the younger Monodane weakly as he slowly got back to his feet.

It was only then that the missing-nin noticed his brother's clone placing an explosive tag on a nearby wall. As he looked around, he spotted tens of such notes around him. "_Shi…_" was the only thought that appeared in his mind before all the tags went off, lifting up tons of dust.

"_Even with such a trick his Stone Skin is still activated…_" Naraku reminded himself as he breathed heavily. "_He must've felt that, but this still won't do…_"

"What happened?" asked Naruto as he slowly regained conscious.

"You've gotten into a fight with Naraku's older brother…" replied Yari, hugging him the moment he sit up, making Hinata held back her anger once more. "I'm so glad you're alright, Naruto-kun!"

"_Haven't I told her he will be few minutes ago?_" Shikamaru's eyebrow went up, but he kept silent. "_Girls will always be troublesome…_"

"So what was that explosion?" the blonde asked another question as he got back to his feet.

"Now Naraku-sama is fighting your opponent…" replied Hinako. "And even thought it may not look like it, but… he's losing that fight…"

"_Naraku… is losing to someone?_" Naruto's eyes widen as he turned his head to look at the battle.

"_Dammit, at this point summoning Toramaru would cause me most of my chakra…_" the younger Monodane cursed in his mind. "_But even if I were to do that, he'd summon Harinezumo… a waste of chakra…how should I resolve this then?_"

Resshin shaken of the rubble that was lying on him and walked out of the dust. "You're a real pain in the ass, Naraku, you know that?" he asked his brother.

"I take that as a compliment…"

"Take it as you want… enough fun and games, this ends here…" and with that he began another chain of hand seals, different from the others.

"_The order of the seals…_" Naraku's eyes widen. "_He couldn't have!_"

"Tenrai Kuiki: Ikazuchi Arashi!" Resshin called out with the last symbol and in a fracture of a second waves of electricity ran on the ground with an incredible speed. Naraku wasn't even able to react before the waves hit him.

The younger Monodane screamed in pain as electricity shoot through him body, making him fall down to his knees from both pain and exhaustion. His skin was now cut in various places and his blood started to fall on the ground as he breathed even more heavily then before.

"That's the difference between you and me, Naraku…" announced Resshin coldly as he looked at his brother. "You must face the facts: you'll never be able to catch up to me…" and with that he collected another among of chakra in his right hand and charged at the defenseless leaf-nin once more.

"_All those years…_" Naraku couldn't move. "_All my training… and yet the gap between the two of us is still so wide... what was the point? Aiko-chan… your wish… I'm sorry…_"

Just then a rock fell between the two of them and a moment later it turned into Naruto who held his hand in front, calling out: "Rasengan!"

Resshin, who was unable to dodge when running at top speed, received a hit from the spinning chakra right in the stomach and was send flying back at the wall, spinning.

The blonde haven't waited a second, helped Naraku get up and jumped back to where their comrades were: "Let's get the hell outta here!" Shikamaru helped him carry the exhausted Monodane and started to jump from roof to roof along with the five kunoichis.

Hanone and Hinato jumped down to the place their master was. Resshin slowly started to get back to his feet with a wound in the stomach, yet smiling widely. "_So that blonde brat threw that rock to block my way to Naraku… he then performed the Kawarimi to make sure he'd hit me with his attack… being absorbed in a fight with my brother, he knew I wouldn't noticed him collecting chakra for that technique… if I didn't had my Stone Skin activated, he could've even defeated me…_"

"Resshin-sama, are you okay?" asked Hanone with concern in his voice.

"Of course, you fool…" replied the dreadlocks. "You think that an attack of that level could do any, real damage to me? But that whisker-marks brat… I think he may entertain me a bit… he actually caught me on the same trick twice…"

"Shall we give chase?" asked Hinato.

"Don't bother…" responded Resshin. "For the time being neither Naraku, nor his companions present any, real treat to our plans… take your subordinates that are still alive and dispose of the dead properly… I want to see both of you at the meeting… you know the place… now move out…" and hearing that both missing-nins bowed and disappeared. "_Naruto, was it? This may be more fun then I have imagined…_"

----------

"Well, it doesn't seem like we're being followed or anything, so I guess we can stop for a while…" announced Shikamaru as he looked behind. "Besides, someone should take care of this guy's injuries… they seem pretty bad…"

"I… I can do it…" Hinata proposed shyly. "Sakura gave me some tips… I'm not an expert, but I think I'll be able to at least stop be bleeding…"

"That'll do for now" replied Kasumi. "Do it… and while you're at it, we should decide where to go now… even is they're not pursuing us, they may sooner or later… as long as Naraku is in this state, our chances of surviving another fight have decreased, especially if that Resshin guy will go after us…"

"So we need a safe place to rest that is not far away…" concluded Naruto. "I think I know one… it's only about a one-day trip from here…"

"What is this place that you're talking about?" asked Hinako.

"Village Hidden in the Sand…" responded the blonde.

"Out of the question…" replied Naraku, slowly getting up.

"Naraku-san, you shouldn't move too much right now…" announced Hinata quietly. "Your wounds may open again…"

"We will not go to Suna…" repeated the former leaf-nin as he looked at Naruto.

"Why's that?" asked Shikamaru, not really carrying.

"Not all of us are welcomed there…" answered Kasumi, throwing Yari a sad glare.

"What's that suppose to mean? I don't get it…" announced Naruto.

"That doesn't surprise me…" sighed Hinako. "I'll try to explain it to you. As you have probably noticed, or at least you should have, Yari is a former sand-nin… she didn't left her village out of her own, free will though, she was expelled from it…"

"Expelled from the village?" Hinata's eyes widen. "But why? There must've been a reason."

"There was…" nodded Yari. "To put it simply, because of me the Sand has gotten into a war with Kumo Gakure… war because of which Suna suffered great damage…" and saying so, she lowered her head.

Everybody went silent until Naraku decided to speak up again: "No matter the reason, if one of us can't go, no-one will… as outcasts we have to stick together… besides I'm not the type that'd leave his comrade just to assure safety for myself…"

"None of us will…" added Kasumi.

"The current Kazekage is an old friend of mine…" announced Naruto. "I'm sure he'll allow you to enter the village, Yari-chan… Gaara won't let anyone from the Sand suffer… even if that person had to become a missing-nin…"

"You don't get it, do you, pinhead?" asked Hinako. "Sabaku no Gaara IS the reason why Yari had to leave the Sand in the first place…"

"Say what?" the loud mouth's eyes widen.

"It's just as you heard…" interrupted Naraku. "At any rate, this topic is closed… why have to think of something different… Hinako, you know these parts the best… do you have any ideas of a good, hiding spot?"

"Well, there is one about two or three days marsh from here…" began the green-haired girl, but she got cut off by Naruto:

"Let's go to Suna! I promise you that Gaara will let us in… and if he won't, then we'll all just look for a different hideout. Think about it: in worst case scenario, Yari won't be allowed in the village and we'll lose one day… but if she'll be able to enter the village, we'll have all the sand-nins on our side… the whole village will help us fight if someone would try to attack us…"

"_Naraku-sama, this kid really is a lot like you used to be…_" Hinako smiled to herself.

The younger Monodane looked into the blonde's eyes and then, letting out a sigh, announce: "Okay, we'll do as you say… but don't count on me to leave Yari or any other of my companions on ice… we'll see what your promise is worth…"

The Kyuubi vessel just smile. Soon all of them headed west, straight towards the gates of Suna Gakure.

* * *

And with that the fifth chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it.

Without making it longer, here's another, jutsu encyclopedia:

_Hinote Kuiki: Ryuumori_ (Fire Domain: Dragon Lance) – a jutsu used by the Monodane who mastered the Fire Domain. It's not that different from the Grand Fireball Skill used by the Uchiha, the main difference is that it's more powerful, but also much more chakra draining.

_Tsuchi Kuiki: Ishirou no Jutsu_ (Earth Domain: Stone Prison Skill) – a technique used by Monodane clan members who mastered Earth Domain. The user must first send his chakra to the ground which then, with the use of right hand seals, pushes up thin, stone spikes. Once the spikes surround the opponent, the same chakra that pushed them up starts to bend them in a way they'd imprison the target.

_Hinote Kuiki: Kasai Yari_ (Fire Domain: Fire Spear) – a jutsu used by Fire Domain masters. In this case the user much concentrate the chakra in his (or hers) hand and then, with the use of right hand seals, release it in a form of a flame. This attack requires a lot of precision, but if the bullet would hit the target, damaged caused by it would be rather big.

_Hinote Kuiki: Makai Arashi_ (Fire Domain: Hell Storm) – one of the most powerful, Monodane techniques. The usage is practically the same as in Dragon Lance case, only the among of chakra required is way bigger. The released flame covers almost everything in front of it, however experienced users can control the flames even when they left his mouth, by sending their chakra with the fire (that's why, when Resshin used it, it surrounded Naraku).

_Mizu Kuiki: Gogyou Haretsu_ (Water Domain: Water Explosion) – jutsu used by Monodane clan members who mastered Water Domain. The user must first send his chakra deep into the ground (so that it'd reach the underground water sources) and then, by performing the right set of hand seals, make it push up a huge among of water to the surface, creating a large gazer. This isn't an offensive jutsu, it's purpose is mostly to fight against fire attacks.

_Mizu Kuiki: Tsurara Misairu no Jutsu_ (Water Domain: Icicle Missile Skill) – jutsu known to Monodane clan members who mastered Water Domain. Can be performed only near a water source. The user sends his chakra into the water and forming it into a spike. Then with the use of his chakra he freezes it, making a icicle that can be send at the opponent.

_Hinote Kuiki: Kasai Genko_ (Fire Domain: Fire Fist) – jutsu known to Fire Domain masters. The user first collects his chakra into his hand and then, using the correct chain of hand seals, releases it in the form of a flame which surrounds his arm. A punch launched with such fist is much more powerful then a normal one.

_Tenrai Kuiki: Ikazuchi Arashi_ (Thunder Domain: Thunder Storm) – a jutsu used by Monodane clan members who mastered Thunder Domain. The user must first send his chakra to the ground and then, with the use of right hand seals, form it into electricity. Since the ground is already electrified, the thunders created by the user can move at an incredible speed.

Lastly, here's the character profile of another OC. This time it'll be my favorite of the kunoichis, Tamao:

_Name:_ Akaramu, Tamao

_Name origins:_ her last name, 'akaramu' means 'to redden', 'to blush'… since she's not so different from Hinata (she's extremely shy as well… guess I can't help creating kunoichis like that), I figure it'll be perfect for her… her first name doesn't really have a meaning, I choose if, because I like it (and it's the name of one of my favorite characters from a different manga)

_Age:_ 17 years old

_Birth Date:_ 25th of December

_Blood Type:_ A

_Height:_ 143,2 cm

_Weight:_ 35,3 kg

_Rank:_ not specified... but when she left her village she was a chuunin

_Village:_ Hidden Stone (Iwa Gakure)

_Techniques (used so far):_ none

_Favorite food:_ anything without meat

_Favorite color:_ green

_Family:_ no information

I believe that with that this chapter ends. Hope you liked it and that you'll leave a review once you're done.

Take care and hopefully till the next time!


	6. Gates of Hidden Sand

Before I go any further, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. And thank you for encouraging reviews! They really keep me going. For those who criticized: thank you for leaving your opinion. It helps me improve what I can.

Now, to answer some major questions from reviews:

**_Are other, "Naruto" characters gonna appear:_** to answer shortly: yes. Some this chapter and pretty soon another one from the Leaf is gonna make an entry…. I'm not saying more, coz I hate to be the spoiler. I assure you that you'll find out what happened to all of them.

**_When will be more romance and what are the pairings:_** starting this chapter and few ahead there will be romance (it'll be mostly hints in this one) and secret revealing. The pairing… well, maybe I should keep it a secret (read this chapter and you'll probably figure out few).

**_Why does Naruto seem weak:_** well, I get that quite a bit, so I guess you all will be happy that starting this chapter the blonde loud mouth will keep getting stronger and stronger… how and why… read to find out.

**_What's with the Monodane bloodline:_** to keep this short I placed a special note at the end in which I tried to explained the whole thing behind Naraku's clan abilities… if something stays unclear to you, go ahead and ask and I'll try to explain it better.

**_Grammar still sucks:_** I know… I do write in Word but is doesn't seem to help me out much… well, in my defense I can only say that English is not my national language. I'm doing my best to fix most of the mistakes, but I could really use a beta reader, so anyone's who's interested, don't hesitate about telling me. For the time being I can only hope that my bad English isn't making this fic unable to understand and less enjoyable… but sorry in advance for all the future mistakes I'll most likely make.

I think that clears it all, so without further to do, here's the sixth chapter of "Shinobi Story"

P.S. Sorry for a bit late update... it'd appear on Saturday, but until now I couldn't even submit a document.

P.S.S. I'd also like to invite you all to read and review my other, "Naruto" fics. The climate is quite similar to this fic, so I'd say there's a high possibility you'll like them.

**Chapter #6: Gates of Hidden Sand**

**_Title Page:_** Naruto and Yari are standing back to back. Naruto is watching the sky and is eyeing his way, blushing slightly

It took them three days to walk through the desert… however Kasumi assured that it wouldn't be that long if Shikamaru wouldn't act like an ass and walked in turtle speed (_A/N: she skipped the fact that both Naruto and Naraku were slowing them down a bit due to their injuries from the fight with Resshin_)… after all Suna was supposed to be only one-day marsh. The lazy shinobi found an explanation that in the desert you must conserve your energy, which made the former Mist kunoichi even more mad.

But they manage to arrive at the gates of Suna before Kasumi decided to kill Shikamaru and everyone sighed in a relief noticing that. The moment they reached the gorge that lead to the Hidden Sand Village, Naraku gave them a signal to stop and a second later two Sand shinobies landed before them, ready to attack.

"Here's your chance, pinhead…" joked Hinako as she pushed Naruto forward.

"What is your business in…" began the sand-nin carrying a halberd, but then he noticed Yari and without saying anything more he jumped right at the girl with the blade of his weapon aimed at the kunoichi.

The former sand-nin acted instantly and picking out her own spear she blocked the attack. The guard was prepared to launch another attack, however Naraku grabbed him by his neck and attacking his legs with his own he made him fell to the ground: "Calm down… we didn't came here to bring trouble… we just want a place to stay for a while…"

"How can you even ask that!" yelled the guard that wasn't forced against the ground. "Don't you know what she has done?" with that he pointed at Yari. "She's forbidden to enter this village ever again! It's the previous Kazekage's order!"

"I demand to talk to the current Kazekage!" interrupted Naruto, drawing the guard's attention. "I couldn't care less about the previous Kazekages! I want to see the Godaime!"

"You have no right to demand that…" replied the guard held by Naraku.

"Oh, so you mean that you're not gonna inform your leader about a bunch of missing-nins that came to the gates of your village, traveling with a criminal from your own town?" asked Shikamaru with a tiny smirk, yet his eyes were closed, also as if he was asleep.

The guards clenched their teeth and soon after one of the guards that didn't came towards them ran into the village. Hinata looked worried as the guard disappeared and turned to her companion: "Yari-san, what did you do?"

The former Sand kunoichi just looked away and lowered her sight slightly. After a short wait the current Kazekage appeared before them, along with two other shinobies. The first one was a boy with purple tattoos on his face, wearing a little weird, black suit and was carrying five scrolls on his back.

The other shinobi was a girl with long, blonde hair, clipped in four ponytails. Her eyes were blue and she was wearing a blue and purple dress with metal protector on her arms and chest. Naraku also noticed a large fan attached to her back. She had her hitae-ate around her neck.

The Kazekage himself was a boy their age with short, spiky, red hair and green eyes. He was wearing a jet black robe and a large gourd on his back. Naraku easily spotted a kanji symbol for 'love' on the left side of his forehead and bags under his eyes. "_So this is the famous Sabaku no Gaara, thought to be the strongest among all the Kazekage so far?_"

"Uzumaki Naruto…" began the red-head. "Good to see you again, my friend…" but then his eyes went over to Yari and after a short, staring contest, he finally spoken as the kunoichi turn her face away: "Yari… it's been a while…"

"Oi, Gaara, we need a place to stay for a while…" Naruto cut in and stood between the Godaime and the former sand-nin. "I recommended Suna… you're gonna let all of us in, right? I hate to be the only one responsible for adding days to out trip…"

Gaara just looked at him for a moment and then stood back, making the motion with his hand that invited them to enter. Meanwhile the boy with scrolls on his back walked over to the Godaime and whispered into his ear: "Gaara, are you sure? You may have forgiven her, however the village will definitely not feel the same…"

"Kankuro, you should understand…" replied the Kazekage simply as he exchanged glares with Yari as she passed him, however the kunoichi once more turn away.

Shikamaru, who was walked at the end of the group got grabbed by the collar and sticking out his tongue in gasp for air he turned around to look at the Sand kunoichi with a fan who smiled widely and gave him a smack on the head: "Took you long enough to drop by, you lazy ass."

"And just why would I want to visit such a troublesome woman like you?" joked the leaf-nin, smirking slightly under his nose, even though that comment earned him another smack on the head.

Tamao looked with amazement in her eyes at the streets of the Hidden Sand as it was her first time visiting the Suna: the buildings, even though they made impression of being primitive, were decorated in many ways. All were built from white brick and took many shapes: from simple squares, through pyramids and ending on palace-like mansions, which roofs were made into a circle with a spike on top and painted with golden pain (_A/N: not too good at describing that… think Arabic cities and you should know_). She didn't notice any glass in the windows, however there were rolls of material above every one of them… her guess was that it was a protection from sand getting into the house during sandstorms.

With every step they raised a little dust as the streets were covered with sand. On every side of the street stood wagons and stalls that were selling practically everything: food, clothes, even sabers. Due to the high temperature the only plants that she spotted here and there were palms. She even notice a high fountain in the center of the village with the statues of Suna heroes around it. Every statue had a short description of who it represented and what he or she had done for the village.

Tamao drifted back to the time she spend in her hometown which was located between two, huge rocks. Those rocks covered most of the sky, so even during the day the sunlight was weak in the village.

When they reached the Kazekage Tower, Tamao noticed that the whole thing was made into three circles: the widest at the bottom and the smallest on top. On the middle circle there was a symbol of 'wind', large enough to be spotted from all around the tower. With a second look she also spotted golden stripes here and there, decorating the white walls of the building along with few, black, decorative writings around the windows… as she read one of them, she realized that it was an incantation to scare away demons.

"Please follow me to the office where we can calmly talk about the conditions you'll have to make to stay…" and with that Gaara led them inside the tower with Temari and Kankuro following them. When they finally reached their destination, the puppeteer made sure no-one was on the hallway and closed the door. "So, what exactly do you expect from me?"

"Kazekage-sama…" bowed Naraku, before continuing: "We wish to ask you for a shelter until Naruto and I will recover from our injuries and we all be well-rested… once that will be achieved, we'll buy supplies for the trip to come and trouble you no further…"

"Shelter, you say?" repeated the Godaime. "Then you came to the wrong village, I'm afraid… you are all welcome to stay, however I cannot ensure Yari's safety as long as she's here…" and with that he turned to the kunoichi. "I did terrible things to this place as well… guess that allowed me to forgive you, however other people of this village are a different story… even if I were to announce you're my guest, I don't suppose it'll stop them…"

"Gaara-kun, I…" began the former sand-nin. "I really didn't mean to… back then… it… it seemed like the best thing to do…"

"Then you should have completed it…" replied the Kazekage. "You might lose your path if you look back… lets not talk about it for now... you'll be guests in our house until you decide to leave… Kankuro, please, show them the way… I'll join you when my work will be complete…"

The puppeteer nodded and with a hand gesture showed them to follow him. Shikamaru was stopped by Temari however: "You're going with me, lazy ass!" and without waiting for his answer, she grabbed him by the hand and drag behind her.

Gaara only smirked under his nose at the sight and looked out the window before returning to his desk: "_Why have you ever decided to return… Yari-chan?_"

----------

Naraku stood on top of the Kazekage's mansion and stared at the starry, night sky. He drifted away to the memories of the old times when Tamao walked onto the roof as well and stopped few meters behind him: "Naraku-kun… the Kazekage will soon return and the meal is being prepared… will you come?"

Without even turning around, the former leaf-nin replied: "It's pretty ironic, don't you think? Because of that promise I cannot move on and yet the same promise seems like the only thing that keeps me with being myself… there are times when I think that this single promise and the will to fulfill it are the only things that are left of the old me…" he paused for a moment before continuing: "Have I ever told you why I even made that promise, Tamao-chan?"

"N… no…" replied the former stone-nin, shaking her head slightly.

"At that time it was really the only thing I could have done…" answered Naraku. "After all that training, I have never thought I could be so helpless… there are times when I wonder: if I didn't gave her my word back then… would things go differently? Due to the word I gave her, almost everything was taken away from me… I guess I proved that I really could sacrifice anything for her… but I don't think I could do something like that again…"

"Naraku-kun…" began Tamao as she walked closer to him and placed her hand on his shoulder: "I… I know you wouldn't be able to do that again, because… because now you have more then one important person on your list… and I'm sure that… that for them… for us… you'd be able to even sacrifice your own life… you… you may not know it yourself, but… but I'm sure you would…"

"No…" replied the former leaf-nin. "I don't think I could until I fulfill that promise… and recent events shown that I'm far from achieving that…" and with that he held out his hands, which started shaking. "All those years… I thought I could match him by now… and yet the gap is still that great… and there's always the second part of her wish…"

"Someday you will fulfill it and live on…" assured the former stone-nin. "I know you will, because…" with that she lowered her head, blushing slightly and then continued: "Because you're the only one I know who can do it… between you and your brother… there's one, big difference, Naraku-kun… and that difference makes you stronger then him… and soon you will fulfill that promise…"

Naraku turn around to face his companion and smiled warmly to her. After a short silence he asked: "Tamao-chan, please tell Kazekage-sama that I'm sorry… I… I think I'll go and train a little…" and with that he was gone.

The kunoichi just smiled slightly and slowly walked back inside the mansion.

----------

Naruto was walking through the hall towards the dinning room to meet everyone. On the way he saw Hinata leaving her room. The white-eyed girl smiled to him and stood in place until he reached her: "How are you feeling, Naruto-kun?"

"Way better now, thanks to your treatment…" he replied. "Well, my left shoulder still hurts a bit and I feel my ribs got broken, but in a day or two I should fully recover. Thanks a bunch, Hinata!"

"It… it's nothing… Naruto-kun…" responded the girl, turning away so that he couldn't see her blushing. "If I… if I sacrificed more of my time for training with Sakura I could've done better… it's really… nothing…"

"Yeah right, you're the only medic on the team…" announced the blonde as he wrapped his hand around her, making her red as a tomato. "If it wasn't for you, both me and Naraku would have to be dragged here and I'm positive Shikamaru would never agree for that…" with that he laughed and left go of her, yet her blush still didn't faded away. "To show you how much I appreciate your help, I can even give you a bowl of my ramen… just one though, lets not over do it…" he joked again, making the girl giggle at the line.

Soon after they entered the dinning room and noticed Kasumi already sitting there. She gave them a quick glare and then got back to polishing her katana. "_You can tell that anywhere she goes, she's the life of a party…_" thought Naruto sweat dropping and a second later he heard Hinako's voice:

"Come on, only one bite…" and a moment later she appeared in the hallway, reaching out for the big plate that Kankuro was carrying above his head out of the former cloud-nin's reach. "Don't be so mean!"

"No!" the puppeteer yelled back. "Gaara would kill me if he were to find out!"

"You're no fun…" replied Hinako and then, with a devilish smile she started softly tickling the sand-nin's chin: "Come on, I won't tell anyone… and did I already told you that with that make-up on your face you look really manly?"

Kankuro blushed deeply and after a moment of hesitation he loudly swallowed his saliva he replied: "No! Get away from me, you evil woman! Even Temari isn't as bad as you!" and with that they both entered the room, passing Naruto laughing loudly and Hinata holding herself from laughter.

"I really hate when you're using your charms to get what you want from men…" announced Kasumi as her friend sat next to her. "It's not even shinobi-like…"

"Or are you mad because your charms are useless…" teased Hinako making the former mist-nin holding back her to cut the ring user's throat. A second later the green-haired girl burst out laughing and patting the weapon mistress on the back, she apologized.

"Where are Shikamaru and Temari-san?" asked Hinata quietly as she sat at the table next to Naruto, who located himself right to Hinako.

"I don't think they'll be coming tonight…" replied Kankuro as he sat in front of the white-eyed girl. "Since Temari took him away… she'll probably bash him for not letting her know he's still alive after your village…" but then he interrupted, realizing what he was saying. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay…" assured Naruto as Tamao entered the room as well: "So, is Naraku coming?"

The former stone-nin only shook her head in disagreement and when the blonde asked why, she replied quietly: "He decided to train…"

"Train?" whisker-marks eyebrow went up. "He's still injured and even above that, what's the use? He's the strongest around here anyway… maybe except Gaara and me…" and with that he smiled widely.

"You're a dope…" announced Kasumi. "No matter how strong you are, if you won't train, your skills will decrease… take you for example: you can use the chakra of a demon that was sealed inside you during the fight, but that didn't bring you any good, coz you only used a small among of it… yes, I can tell, coz I know a Jinchuuriki myself and I can tell you that the power you released during your fight with Resshin was nowhere near hers…"

"You wanna know why I haven't used more?" Naruto kept himself from yelling. "Coz if I were to do that, you all would end up dead! I cannot control Kyuubi's power over the among I used!"

"And you think that's any excuse?" replied the former mist-nin calmly. "Throughout the history there were human sacrificed that could use demon powers to the maximum… Jinchuuriki were created as weapons, so it was essential to allow them to leap into the demon's chakra without losing control… if they were to lose control, the purpose of their existence would be lost…" Naruto calmed down at hearing her words. "Since you weren't possessed, but the Kyuubi was sealed in you, it is possible for you to release it's full power without losing control… all you need to do is learn how to overcome the demon when you increase the among of its power you release…"

The blonde lowered his head. Hinata seeing his depression, placed her hand on his shoulder, however the loud mouth just stood up and said to Kankuro: "Excuse me, I think I'll skip this meal… tell Gaara we'll talk tomorrow…" and with that he left the room.

"_Well, what do you know…_" Kasumi only smiled slightly under her nose as she stopped polishing her katana. "_They really are very much alike… sorry Naruto, but I guess you had to hear what I said for you to understand…_"

Hinako looked at the white-eyed girl who lowered her head as well and stopped drinking for a moment: "_Boy, what a pinhead…_" and with that thought she took the place next to Hinata that Naruto just freed: "Why don't you just tell him?"

The young Hyuuga looked at the green-haired girl and after returning to stare at the floor, she replied: "It… it's okay…"

The former cloud-nin keep looking at the leaf-nin and finally, returning to her drink, she announced: "I see what's the problem. Tomorrow I'm taking you out to the city… we'll work on that shyness of yours… and I won't take 'no' for an answer…"

Hinata's eyes widen as she gave the green-haired girl a stare and smiled weakly while turning her head away from her companion.

----------

"You're a weird girl…" announced Shikamaru as him and Temari were laying on one of the roof tops, observing the stars. "When you took me away, I was positive you're gonna make me take a walk or something…"

"It'd just end up with you saying 'how troublesome'…" replied the Sand kunoichi. "You're a lazy ass, so this is the only thing I knew you won't mind doing and so that we could talk…"

"And what is it that you wish to talk to me about?" Shikamaru got interested (_A/N: at least as much as he can be_).

"When I heard Konoha was destroyed, for some reason I got worried that I'll never see you again…" announced the fan user. "And that scared me… I guess that… well… that you become important to me, even though you're an ass…" and with that she turned to look at the lazy shinobi just to see that he was sleeping.

As a veins started popping on her forehead, she grabbed her fan and creating a blow that wiped the leaf-nin from the roof, she yelled: "Asshole!" yet couldn't help but smile at Shikamaru's behavior.

----------

Naraku stood in the middle of a training ground, breathing heavily. As he raised his head he ordered himself: "_Again!_" and instantly began performing a long set of hand seals: "Mizu Kuiki: Koori Hane Mitsukai no Jutsu!"

A second later a small circle of water started to form around his feet. Few water drops flew into the air, however a moment later the circle got dispelled and water dropped back to the ground.

Naraku hit the ground with his fist and cursed in his mind: "_Dammit! Why can't I master it? The last jutsu of the water domain! If I only could master it I'd gain access to the third… what am I doing wrong? Why… why can't I catch up to him?_"

"Naraku…" he heard a voice and as he turned around, he noticed Naruto coming towards him. "Am I… interrupting something?"

The former leaf-nin stood up straight and looked at the blonde: "No, I just… well, never mind. But why are you here? Is there something you want from me?"

"Actually, yes…" nodded the loud mouth. "Is it possible… I mean… please help me with my training!" at hearing that Naraku's eyes widen, yet after a moment he smiled under his nose at the change in the blonde.

----------

Yari sat at the edge of a roof, looking at the village at night when Hinata came to her and sat beside the former sand-nin. She gave the spear user a glare and then asked quietly: "You didn't came to eat, so I decided to look for you… is everything alright, Yari-san?"

"To be honest, nothing is…" replied the blue-haired girl. "Even thought Gaara said that… I still don't think I should be returning to this place… or to his life…"

"What… do you mean?" asked the white-eyed girl without confidence.

"I failed everyone's trust…" responded Yari after a moment of hesitation. "The trust of every, single person in this village… and I betrayed both my country and a friend…"

Hinata's eyes widen at hearing that, yet she didn't say anything. After a longer silence, the spear user decided to tell the leaf-nin her story.

* * *

And this is it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review once you're done. Coming up is Yari's story and the secret behind her and Gaara! 

Well, no jutsus really were used in this one, so I'll just give you the basic info about the technique Naraku tried to perform:

_Mizu Kuiki: Koori Hane Mitsukai no Jutsu_ (Water Domain: Ice Wing Angel Skill) – thought to be the most powerful jutsu in the water domain… but I'll be keeping it a secret for the time being… geh, ain't I a stinker?

**ABOUT MONODANE BLOODLINE LIMIT:** Well, in stead of character profile this time, I'll try to explain the Monodane bloodline limit a little (since many of the reviewers had questions about it)… it's easy in my national language, but English is a little different story, so feel free to ask any question if you don't understand something:

To start off, I'll clear something: it's NOT impossible to learn ALL types of ninjutsu if you're not a Monodane, it's just that for Monodane it's a little easier. And there's always the fact that Monodane have access to techniques known ONLY to them from every domain. That's the main reason why their bloodline limit is so desired by others.

Each Monodane is assigned to a certain element at birth (it's in their genes, that's why it's a bloodline limit) and because of that he or she cannot learn techniques from another domain until he master the domain he was assigned at birth. Why? Coz the elements mix with each (like water turns down fire, earth absorbs water, earth conducts electricity and so on) so because of those genes (some say it's a defect of their bloodline) the person cannot enter another domain before mastering the previous. The reason for it is because if he or she cannot fully control the element (master the domain) the element will collide with the domain he or she tried to enter (to make it a bit more clearer: if a person were to do that, if he wanted to perform a jutsu from the earth domain, a technique from the water one could be released, because in Monodane technique's case total control of the element is required to not screw up… the domains that got mastered stay under complete control and does not influence other domains in any way). To master a domain one must learn all the techniques in it and be able to perform them at any time. After that is done, the Monodane is given a scroll with techniques from the domain he or she wish to enter next (any of the remaining can be chosen, only at birth the member of the clan has no choice).

Now that I read what I wrote above, I guess it's still not completely clear… well, bottom line is that it's all in the genes (like all bloodlines)… but as I wrote, ask me about anything and I'll try to give you a clear answer… the knowledge about Monodane's bloodline limit is not needed to enjoy the story really, however I figure it's good to know.

That's it for this time. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll bless me with a review once you're done.

Best wishes and until next time.


	7. Beauty and the Beast

Boy, that's kinda quick… but I really got an inspiration while writing this chapter and I wanted to uploaded before Easter, so… Well, to start off, as usual thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. Hope you'll do the same with this one, it'd really make my day.

Now, to answer the things you asked in the reviews:

**_Will Naruto get stronger only by developing Kyuubi's power:_** about that you shouldn't be worrying. To tell the truth I'm not that much of "Kyuubi using" fan. Sure, the fact that the loud mouth carries the fox inside will be used, but that won't be the only path of Naruto's development. For one thing, Naraku can't help him with that… and Gaara along with the Monodane won't be his only "teachers"… but I won't say more.

**_Naraku is a lot like Sasuke:_** well, I won't argue that with some parts he is… but when you'll learn Naraku's history (and in the right time you will) you'll also see major differences between the two… I also hope that some are visible already.

**_What's between Yari and Gaara:_** well, you'll learn it in this chapter… some things are left untold for a reason and I don't really intend to explain them, coz one of the things I hate the most is a story when the reader is TOLD what he/she should think… I'll leave the judgement of things to you.

**ANNOUNCEMENT:** just wanted to inform you about something… well, for some time now I've being writing my original story that is influenced by manga… and I finally decided to place it on the web… you can find the link on my profile page… as for the details, it's a fantasy story with a lot of action and quite a lot of humor and drama… plus romance later on. If you feel like it, do try it out and leave a review if you can. Thanks in advance.

One last thing: PLEASE leave a review with your opinion, coz I really want to improve!

With that said, I think there's nothing left for me to do then just get on with it:

**Chapter #7: Beauty and the Beast – Yari's Story**

**_Chapter Cover:_** an eight-year-old Yari is making a castle from the sand along with Gaara

"Well, this sucks…" complained Naruto as he formed more seals. "I was hoping you'll teach me some of those cool jutsus you used… like Dragon Lance or Icicle Missile thingy…"

"Again, I told you that I cannot do…" reminded Naraku. "Those techniques can be mastered only with Monodane blood… you have none so there's no point in even trying… I can however help you out with other things you're lacking in… also, if I were you, I'd look for someone who could help you out with controlling your demon chakra…"

"You shouldn't be worrying about that…" replied the blonde. "I'm sure Gaara will help me out… he's experienced in that area…"

"_So that redhead really is a Jinchuuriki?_" the young Monodane thought to himself. "_That explains some matters… at least now I understand Yari's reasons…_" and with that his thoughts got disturbed as he glared at the whisker-marks: "Okay Naruto, listen up… I'm gonna show you a little trick that should help you in chakra control… once you'll get a hang of that, I'll teach you a very special technique that I've seen in Stone Country…"

---Eleven Years Ago---

"Yari, watch out!" yelled a boy with messy, blonde hair and green eyes as the ball was flying right at a certain, eight-year-old girl with long, blue hair, clipped in a ponytail. The girl just jumped back and as the ball bounced of the ground where she stood just a moment ago, she grabbed and with a wide smile toss it back at a boy that threw it. This time the ball reached its target.

"I told you already…" announced the blue-haired girl with a grin. "When it comes to dodge ball, you guys can never match me… better accept it…" and with that she picked up the ball, prepared to aim once more.

Just then she noticed a strange boy with rusty, red hair, black bags under his green eyes and a kanji symbol for 'love' on the left side of his forehead. He was sitting far away from everyone on a swing. The girl grinned and after throwing the ball right at him, she yelled: "Hey, rusty head, reflex!"

The boy merely turned his gaze her way and the girl's eyes widen as the ball got blocked by the wall of sand. "Are you insane, Yari?" yelled one of the boys as all the kids began running away: "That's Sabaku no Gaara! Run away or you're dead!"

The girl didn't answer, she just stared at her running friends and then turned around to the boy, who was slowly walking towards her, carrying the ball. A second later she felt something grabbing her leg and as she glared down, she noticed sand surrounding her ankles.

"Nice catch…" she gave the boy thumbs up, smiling. That seemed to surprise the redhead as he stopped in his tracks and his eyes widen slightly. Even the sand stopped circling around her leg. "Can you do it anytime you desire? If so, we could form a dodge ball team. With your defensive skills and my aim, we'd be invincible!" and with that her smile widen even more.

The boy kept looking at her surprised and then slowly asked: "Aren't you… afraid of me?"

"Why would I be?" replied the blue-haired girl confused. "You're just a kid like me with a really awesome ability! Can you teach me how you did that thing with the sand? Out here, in a desert, it could be really useful…"

The boy's eyes widen even more at hearing that and a moment later the sand around the girl's leg backed away. "What's with the look?" asked Yari puzzled. "You seem like you saw a ghost or something… or are you just amazed by my beauty…" at that she grinned once more.

"What… is your name?" asked the boy as he gave her the ball back.

"What ever happen to good manners? Before you ask, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

"You mean… you really do not know… who I am?"

"Well, Jin called you Sabaku no Gaara…" remembered the girl. "But that can't be your real name, coz that's the name of Kazekage-sama's youngest kid and he's suppose to be a monster… so, what's your name?" she asked, still smiling.

The boy still looked at her surprised a barely visible blush appeared on his face as he replied: "I really am Sabaku no Gaara…"

"So you really are Kazekage-sama's kid?" the girl's eyes widen. "Boy, for someone as famous as you, you sure are a pipsqueak… even I'm taller then you…" with that she laughed. "Guess you're lucky to be Yondaime's son, coz with your height, you'd be picked on a lot… I mean, come on, you're so short that you're just asking for a take-down in a nose…" and with that she tried to hit his nose softly with her finger, yet the sand instantly appeared in her way. "No fair! How in the world are we supposed to remain friends when I know that if I go into a fight with you, I won't even be able to hit you?" she joked.

"Remain… friends?" Gaara repeated confused.

"Yeah…" nodded the girl. "We already met, what's wrong with becoming friends?"

The boy just lowered his head and after a while a tiny smile appeared on his face: "I… still don't know your name…" and with that he looked up to the girl.

"It's Yari…" replied the girl with a warm smile.

---Flashback end---

"Naraku-sama still haven't returned?" asked Hinako as she walked closer to Tamao, who was looking out the window of the mansion. The former stone-nin only shook her head. "Damn, what's with you and that Hinata-girl? Can't you two be at least a little more confident?" but a second later she sighed and smiled slightly. "Guess that's part of your charm though… being cute is something I was never good at…" and with that she laughed to herself.

"Hinako-san…" began Tamao as she turned around to the girl. "Will… will Yari-san… return to sleep today?"

The green-haired girl gave her a surprised look and as she turned her gaze out the window, she answered: "I don't suppose she will… being easy out-going can be a curse at certain times too I guess… but looking back I was always wondering how is it that without even trying, she got so much… as bad as it sounds, it'll always be something that I'll be jealous of you guys…" and with that she placed her hand of Tamao's head, smiling warmly. "Lets get some rest, I promised Hinata to help her out first thing in the morning and you can tag along if you want…"

---Eleven Years Ago---

A eleven-year-old girl with long, blonde hair, clipped in four ponytail and blue eyes, carrying a huge fan on her back walked over to a boy a little younger then her. He had spiky, blonde (_A/N: I assume they are blonde_) hair and was wearing a black t-shirt. The boy was playing with dolls.

"Seriously, Kankuro, guys your age stopped playing dolls a long ago…" announced the girl. "If you'll keep this up you'll end up as some weirdo who'll have a split-personality, wear pink or… paint his face with some lame make-up…"

"It's none of your business, Temari…" replied the boy. "Why don't you…" but he stopped in the middle of the sentence as he noticed a certain, blue-haired girl standing in the gate that led to their household: "What do you want?"

"I…" began the girl, scratching the back of her head. "I just… I mean… I was wondering… is Gaara-kun home?" and with that she gave the siblings a wide smile.

"_Is Gaara-kun home?_" Temari repeated in her mind surprised. "What do you want with him?"

"Well, I was going to take a walk to the oasis on the outskirts of the village and I was just wondering if Gaara wanted to join me…" replied the blue-haired girl with a wide smile. "Wait a minute, you're his siblings, right? Temari and Can-kuro, right?"

"Kankuro!" yelled the boy as a vein started to appear on his forehead. "_Wait a minute… how did she knew our names? Did she… talked to Gaara about us? And what's with 'I was wondering if Gaara wanted to join me'? Did she… became friends with him?_"

"Hi, Yari-chan…" they all heard a voice a second later Gaara walked towards them with a small smile on his face. "Why are you here? I thought you were going with your friends to that oasis today…"

"Well, I was, but they backed out on me…" laughed the girl. "Seems they prefer to practice dodge ball… so I figured I can invite you… you're my friend too after all… your siblings can go as well, if they want to, that is…"

"Just why would we…" began Kankuro, but instantly received a powerful elbow from Temari. "We'd love to…" he announced, holding back his urge to kill. The trip would take most of the day, so Yari and Temari offered to make something to eat. Kankuro didn't care and Gaara didn't seemed to, so in the end the girls did as they planned.

"So you're Gaara's new friend?" Temari finally broke the silence that filled the kitchen while they were making supplies. The blue-haired girl gave her a puzzled look and after a short moment she nodded with a wide smile and replied: "Yep, I am…"

The blonde stared at her for a while as she made another sandwich and then, taking her eyes off, she asked with a little sad voice: "Why do you do this?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean…" responded Yari confused.

"You don't have to pretend… everyone knows Gaara, he's not the type to make friends… nor is he the type that others wish to hang around with… I guess you had your reasons to do so, however he's my little brother and I don't want to see him get hurt…"

The blue-haired girl looked at the older girl and then got back to slicing ham: "I guess I somewhat understand… Gaara-kun can be pretty scary… all the stuff I heard about him doesn't help… but he's not that bad…" she announce, once more smiling widely. "Coz under that cold layer…. There's another cold layer…" she joked. "But judging people just on the opinion of others is bad… people are not always as they seem at first… and I believe everyone deserves a chance! Gaara is a good guy, even though he may not show it… he may carry a monster inside, but he certainly is not one…" and with that she smiled once again.

Temari stared in shock at the girl and then returned the smile as she reached for some more bread: "Let's finish those sandwiches… we need to get going, otherwise we won't get back before it gets dark…"

They spend the rest of the day together. Kankuro kept complaining about many, different things, Temari kept scolding him for loads of stuff and Yari kept on laughing. This was one the few times the two siblings saw their little brother laughing alone with someone.

"If it wasn't for your long hair, you wouldn't fall into the water…" announced Gaara, giggling slightly at the sight of Yari's long, wet hair falling on her face when then came back. "Maybe you should consider cutting your hair? It might even make you look more attractive…"

"Don't say stupid things!" she yelled back with a smile as rubbed her head. 'Those hair are my pride and glory! Besides, a girl my age with short hair would just look like a dude… and by what you said, did you mean I'm not attractive now?" she joked and made an all-tuff face. Instantly both of them started laughing.

"Who's that?" asked the Kazekage as he looked at his son and the blue-haired girl.

"That's Yari…" replied Kankuro as he walked into the mansion. "She's a friend of Gaara's… it seems that he finally found someone who can make him smile…"

"Is she now…"

---Flashback end---

Kasumi walked through the empty halls of the Kazekage mansion. It was already later after midnight, yet most of the people still didn't came back. Accidentally she spotted Kankuro standing near the window, looking at the full moon. The former mist-nin came to the puppeteer and taking a place beside him asked: "Why are you up at this hour, Kankuro-san?"

"I could ask you the same thing…" replied the make-up boy. He stayed silent for a moment and then continued: "That moon… it brings back old memories…"

"You're talking about Yari and Gaara?" asked the kunoichi, knowing the answer. The puppeteer only nodded. "She told me about it… it won't really change anything, but if she does regret something, that is most likely it…"

"I know…" responded Kankuro. "It's hard for me to blame her… yet, at the same time, I can't seem to forgive her… how is that so?"

"For such a question… you must find your own answer…" and with that she stared at the moon as well: "_Guess Yari's not the only one with such memories… when something like that happens on a bright night, the full moon never looks the same… doesn't it, Mizuho?_"

---Eleven years ago---

Gaara walked beside his father to the carriage. Noticing his son lowered head, the Fourth Kazekage reminded: "You know that it's required for you to go too… the relationship with Kumo is very unstable now and we cannot allow Hidden Sand to go into another war at this moment… as a sign of good will you and your siblings should go with me…" the redhead only nodded, but didn't raised his head.

The Yondaime sighed slightly and looked at the carriage. A second later, a young girl with short, blue hair, carrying a large spear, jumped out of it. As the Shukaku vessel looked up, a tiny smile appeared on his face: "Yari-chan, what are you doing here?"

"She'll be coming with us…" announced Temari, also smiling. "Father decided that it won't hurt to bring her and Kankuro and I figure it might get you motivated to tag along…" and with that she smiled even wider as the future puppeteer only gave a small nod.

"What happened with your hair?" asked Gaara as he gave his friend another glare.

"Oh, this?" Yari rubbed her hair. "You said it might make me more attractive, so I decided to give it a shoot… so, what do you think?" she asked with a smile.

"You look… nice…" replied the redhead, lowering his head as a small blush began to appear on his face. The girl only gave him a pat on the back (_A/N: which was blocked by the sand anyway_) and gave him one of her smiles.

"But you changed a bit too…" she noticed. "What's with that gourd on your back?"

"Oh, that…" the redhead turned around to look behind his back. "There won't be much sand in the Hidden Cloud, so I've gathered some of it for the trip to use it… as protection…"

The trip to Hidden Cloud took few days, which the Sand siblings and the blue-haired girl spend talking and joking around, yet during that time Gaara also noticed that his friend was acting strange… different then usual.

As they entered the gates of Kumo Gakure, they were all welcomed by the Raikage, along with his thirteen-year-old son, a boy with long, brown hair and green eyes, wearing a white t-shirt with a black waistcoat on that and short, black pants.

"This is my son, Kusotare…" announced the Cloud leader. "Under your permission, he'd like to show your young companions our village, Kazekage-dono…" with that the boy bowed to the Sand leader and received a tiny nod from the Yondaime.

The kids spent the rest of the day walking through the streets of Kumo. Kusotare shown them the best food stands and Temari was itchy to visit some shops that sold clothes. She even forced Yari to tag along and try on some of the dresses, along with a black kimono with golden feathers on it, which sight gave Gaara a barely visible blush on the face as the blue-haired girl stepped out of the changing room in it.

Yari was curiously looking around as it was the first, shinobi village that she saw, except Suna. Kumo was located high in the mountains, due to which it was chilly the whole day. The tops of the highest towers were disappearing behind the white clouds, which seemed to flow just above their heads. The town itself was separated into several districts as Kusotare called them, each placed on a different mountain. The fastest way to travel between them were long, wooden bridges that led from one mountain to another. Those passages didn't seemed all that safe and if the wind was to blow really hard, the bridge would start swinging from left to right for sure.

The buildings looked quite exotic too: throughout the town Yari noticed a lot of high towers, but also multi-level dojo. Most of the higher buildings had sharp roofs. Kusotare explained that at such a height, with a chilly wind, it's easier to stand on such roof as you could always grab the spiky part. Most buildings were grey, with red or green roofs, but the blue-haired girl also noticed some golden paint here and there.

There was almost no vegetation in the village. Kusotare announced that all the farms were located bellow the town as it's hard for plants to grow on such height, thus they saw only some grass along with a strange type of bushes that Yari never saw before. However water was rather common, as every district had its own water source, mostly organized as a small lake, usually in the middle of the area.

The trip around the Hidden Cloud seemed almost as an adventure to them and before they even noticed the sun went down and they had to head back to the Raikage's mansion. Soon after they reached their destination, the night fell over the Kumo.

Yari couldn't fall asleep however, so she decided to go for a walk. The night in the Hidden Cloud turned out to be a cold one, much colder then the nights on the desert. As she got dressed and went outside, she spotted a mysterious figure sitting on a nearby rooftop. Almost instantly she recognized her friend and decided to join him: "Whatcha doin?" she asked as she sneaked behind the redhead.

"Just admiring the moon…" replied the rusty-haired boy. "In this village the clouds get in the way, so I have to use the rooftops in order to see it… it's full moon tonight…" and with that he looked at the bright circle in the sky.

The blue-haired girl sat next to her friend and glanced at the moon as well. After a short moment of silence, she declared:

_When stars visit the sky and the moon is shining bright,_

_Everything falls asleep and day becomes night._

_When darkness and light co-exist at the same time,_

_I stay awake, thinking what I have and what is truly mine…_

_Illusion or reality, who can really tell?_

_Everything disappears with the sound of the morning bell._

"A little… depressive…" noticed Gaara. Yari was about to answer, but just then someone joined them on the roof. It was Kusotare.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked the son of Raikage. "Isn't it pass your bedtime? You know, rusty-head, if you were to fall asleep, you could get rid of those nasty bags under your eyes. And when it comes to Yari…" with that he grabbed the girl's hand: "Maybe you'd like to go for a walk?"

"Let go…" she replied as the grip on her hand tightened. "This hurts…"

"Come on, don't be like that…" said Kusotare with a smirk. "It'll be fun…"

"Let her go!" demanded Gaara as he stood up, his face showing anger.

"Don't get too sure of yourself, brat…" replied Kusotare as he picked out his kunai. "Even though you're Kazekage's son, I won't hesitate to kill you… after all, I killed before…" and with that he tossed Yari away, making her lose balance and fall of the roof.

In an instant the redhead's rage took the best of him and before the cloud-nin even noticed his hands and legs got trapped in the sand, which started to circle around him, soon reaching his neck. The next moment Kusotare's eyes widen as he saw Yari being pulled back to the roof by the same sand that had him trapped.

The boy with bags under his eyes looked with a worried expression at the girl and a second later turned back to the cloud-nin with an urge to kill. Just then the blue-haired kunoichi noticed what was going on and only managed to yell: "Gaara-kun, stop!" before Kusotare got crushed by the Desert Coffin.

The next morning Gaara's father had an early meeting with the Hidden Cloud leader. As he left the Raikage's office, he gave his son an evil glare, making the boy lower his head. Then he threw a quick look at Yari, who turned around instantly. Temari, who was standing besides them along with Kankuro, looked at the two kids with a worried expression, but decided to say nothing.

That day became one of the longest in their lives. Neither Gaara nor Yari really felt like talking to each other and the older, Sand siblings just seemed to disappear. Kazekage treated the redhead as air and the young kunoichi didn't seemed to get better treatment either. They were suppose to leave the Kumo before the end of the day.

The sun almost completely disappeared behind the horizon when Gaara finished packing his things. The moment he did so, the doors open and Yari walked into the room. Without even turning around, the red-haired boy: "Yari-chan, about last night… I didn't… meant to… I just… I lost control… I guess now you know why everyone takes me as a monster… out of all the people, you're the one I wanted the least to think that, but… I guess I really am…" and the moment he said so, the sand rose around him and to his surprise it got cut right through. As he glanced at the thing that was aimed at his head, he instantly recognized the speared carried by his friend. "_That thing… it cut through my sand… since that is so, why didn't it reach my head?_" and with that he turned around to face the blue-haired girl who had her head lowered.

"Gaara-kun… I…" she began as he noticed few tears fall from her face to the floor. "It's… I'm sorry…" and with that she felt to her knees with Gaara soon following her, his eyes widen and mouth open.

A second later Temari broke into the room and lifting Yari up, she carried her outside, leaving Gaara as he was: "_In the end…_" he thought to himself. "_I'm still alone…_"

Temari carried the spear-user who kept sobbing towards the gates of Hidden Cloud: "Temari-san, I didn't meant to… your father… he…"

"There's no need for you to say anything…" replied the blonde. "I know everything… I recognized your spear the moment I saw it… our father made it so I was wondering how you got your hands on it… Kankuro investigated and the mystery got solved… so our father really did found a way to get through Gaara's sand…"

"He told me that if I don't do this, my mother…" Yari kept on sobbing. "And yet, I still couldn't… I failed everyone… now the Cloud…"

"What will be, will be…" interrupted the older girl calmly as they reached the gate where Kankuro was already waiting for them with a small bag: "Listen, Yari, you cannot come back to the Hidden Sand… at least not now… I hope you understand…" with that she placed the blue-haired girl on the ground and looked at her. A moment later the eight-year-old nodded.

"I got you some supplies…" announced the future puppeteer as he gave Yari the bag. "This should be enough for a week… there's also a map inside. If you'll go to the location I marked, you'll reached a small town… once you're there, ask for Ekiyuu… she's a good woman, I'm sure she'll take care of you…"

The girl nodded again, still trying to hold back the tears that were coming out of her eyes. Temari kneeled before her and embrace the bluehead. "Do you… want me to tell Gaara?"

The spear user's eyes widen at hearing that. She turned her gaze to the ground and after a moment of hesitation, she replied: "No… it's better… if he'd hate… me…"

None of the other two kids said anything. A second later Yari took the bag and went outside the village. Soon after she disappeared in the darkness, leaving the two sand-nins still standing at the gates.

---Flashback end---

"So… this is what… happened?" Hinata asked shyly as Yari replied with a nod. "The rest… is easy to figure out: the Cloud most likely used the fact that Gaara-san didn't got killed and the war broke out…but it's not y-your fault, Yari-san…"

"You're wrong…" replied the blue-haired girl. "Everything is my fault… not even once… was I strong enough to change it… I failed Gaara's trust… I failed my mother's trust… I failed Yondaime's trust… and in the end, I even failed my entire village in preventing the war…"

"Y-you…" began the white-eyed girl. "You couldn't do it… any other way… you j-just… wanted to protect… as many as possible… it's not your fault that… it turn out the opposite… I'm sure Gaara-san understands that… and the Cloud… would attack either way…"

"How can you tell?"

"B-because once… I too w-was… involved in their policy…"

----------

Gaara looked out the window at the full moon. There were no clouds on the sky. He slowly closed his eyes and repeated in his mind: "_When stars visit the sky and the moon is shining bright, Everything falls asleep and day becomes night. When darkness and light co-exist at the same time, I stay awake, thinking what I have and what is truly mine… Illusion or reality, who can really tell? Everything disappears with the sound of the morning bell…_" with the last line he opened his eyes again and looking at the moon he said into space: "Isn't that right… Yari-chan?"

* * *

And this closes this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review once you're done.

Well, no jutsus this time, so I figure I can make another, character profile:

_Name:_ Yari

_Name origins:_ her name means simply 'spear' and that is also the weapon she uses

_Age:_ 19 years old

_Birth Date:_ 16th of June

_Blood type:_ 0

_Height:_ 149,8 cm

_Weight:_ 40,7 kg

_Rank:_ not specified… but when she left the village, she wasn't even a gennin

_Village:_ Hidden Sand (Suna Gakure)

_Techniques (used so far):_ Fuuton: Kaze Tenma no Jutsu (Wind Element: Demonic Wind Skill)

_Favorite food:_ rice balls

_Favorite color:_ red

_Family:_ no, specific information

And that's really that for this time. No, before I go, I'd like to wish you all _HAPPY EASTER_! Hope you'll be able to use the holidays to the limit.

Best wishes and until next time, hopefully.


	8. Falling Stars

Before starting this one I'd like to thank everyone for the encouraging reviews on the last chapter. I'm really glad you liked it (Yari's story is my favorite among the five, if I have to be honest). And I also hope that you'll enjoy this chapter at least just as much.

Well, after reading this one when I finished, I got scared that some of you might see it as a filler-up… but some important things will take place in it… plus some of the romances will develop a bit too, so I hope you'll be satisfied. Oh, and about the jutsu Naraku teaches Naruto, then I'll admit already that I'm not hundred procent sure if what I wrote about Rasengan and Chidori in it is completely true.

**ANNOUNCEMENT:** my exams are getting closer and this time around they'll be rather difficult (plus I also have other duties) so it's hard for me to say when I'll be able to update again… I'll try to keep the 'one chapter per month' haste, but I really can't promise I'll manage. Sorry in advance.

Now, without further to do:

**Chapter #8: Falling Stars**

**_Title Page:_** Naruto, Gaara and Naraku are dressed like gang members: Naruto is spraying the kanji for 'fire' on the wall, Gaara is keeping a radio near his right ear and Naraku is putting a cigarette in his mouth

Naruto ate his breakfast at an incredible speed, making everyone gathered at the table looking amazed. Well, everyone except Shikamaru, who didn't really cared as long as the blonde wouldn't choke on the food and Gaara, who shown no emotions… as usual.

"N-Naruto-kun, you should slow down…" Hinata, who was sitting next to the whisker-marks kid finally announced. "Otherwise you might poke or worse…"

"Sorry, Hinata-chan, but I have to eat a lot and then go training…" replied the blonde with his mouth almost full. "I'm gonna master that damn jutsu today!" and with that he glared at Naraku, who had a tiny smirk on his face.

"Yeah, right…" Hinako laughed. "You're going to master the jutsu that's one of the most difficult to learn in a day? For someone of your chakra control level it's a big thing to say… but I guess I'll wish you luck anyways…"

"Thanks, but I won't need it!" assured Naruto as he placed his bowl on the table, bowed to Temari and Tamao who made breakfast that day and left the room.

Naraku's smile widen slightly at the sight as the memory of last evening echoed in his head…

---Last evening---

"Wow!" yelled Naruto as he stared at the tree blown into bits and Naraku standing right next to it with his right hand extend. "How did you do that? And what was that strange, white thingy around your hand?"

"Mitsukai Hokori…" replied Naraku. "That is the jutsu I'll try to teach you… in the entire history there were only three people who were able to perform it… I'm one of them, of course… when it comes to that 'white thingy' as you called it, it's a result of executing the jutsu properly… but before anything I have to warn you: this technique is more powerful then your Rasengan, however, at the same time, it's much more chakra draining and requires much better chakra control… also, in this cases you won't be able to help yourself with your other hand which I see you did once when the Rasengan got out of your control a bit…"

"Blah, blah, blah, just tell me what I have to do!" demanded the blonde, making the former leaf-nin sweat drop before he continued:

"Okay… first I'll tell you the secret behind its strength, which in a way will explain why the chakra I released was white… then I'll try to tell you what you should do to master it, so your little brain will understand it… first you have to understand that the chakra you're releasing while performing any form of ninjutsu is a little different, dependable on what effect you want to achieve… for example to release your chakra in the form of fire, except for the right seals, you also have to release your chakra in a specific way… the way you release your chakra to make it take the form of electricity is different from the one you release as fire… the difference isn't big and to most shinobi it comes natural, so they don't even realize that with different types of ninjutsu they release chakra a bit differently… take you for instance: have you even noticed that to execute the earth jutsu you have to release your chakra in a different way then to perform Kage Bushin?"

"Hmm… not really…" admitted Naruto.

"My point exactly… realizing the difference between chakra released in case of a fire jutsu and in other forms of ninjutsu is somewhat the key to master Angel Dust… to put it as simple as I can, in order to perform that technique, you'll have to release all 'types' of chakra at once… you might say that you'll have to act like you wanted to perform a fire, thunder, water, wind and earth jutsu, all in the same time…"

"But that's impossible!" announced the blonde. "Nobody can do that!"

"It's not easy…" nodded Naraku. "However it can be done… you see, types of ninjutsu are usually compared to the rainbow… chakra itself doesn't really have a color, but when you release it, it takes a color, dependable on the form you release it in… like when you use Kyuubi, your chakra becomes red in stead of typical blue… by combining all the colors in Angel Dust, chakra becomes colorless… to put it simply, when you perform Angel Dust, you use chakra in its original form…"

"Cool! Teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me…" but then he realized something: "Wait a minute, you mean that chakra release while performing Chidori or Rasengan isn't in its original form?"

"Not exactly…" came a response. "In those two cases you release your chakra in a certain way too… kinda like the medic-nins who use their chakra to heal wounds… in Angel Dust's case you'll be trying to release chakra in any way that's possible… lets try it this way: your goal will be to release the same chakra you use for Rasengan, Kage Bushin and the sort at once…"

"Oh, I see… in that case: teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me, teach me…"

"Hold on a minute…" the former leaf-nin tried to calm his friend down. "There's something else that you must know before you even start training… although Mitsukai Hokori is most likely one of the most powerful techniques in the world, it's also the most dangerous one even to its user…"

"What?"

"Let me explain… now, when you perform any, ninjutsu technique, you usually can control your chakra with the help of hand seals or in Rasengan's case, as you did it, with the help of your other hand… Angel Dust is a different story however… when one releases chakra in its original form, the energy instantly tries to escape… in its pure form, chakra that's released from its… 'container'… destroys everything it touches… that's also the reason why hand seals are required… to put it simply, lose control of the chakra you released and you might end up dead… not just that, your entire surrounding might get wiped out… that's why, if you want to train, do it somewhere out of town…"

"Boy, this is discouraging… can't you say something like 'mastering this jutsu is a piece of cake'? That'd be much more helpful… and since this technique is so powerful, why didn't you used it against Resshin?"

"That's quite simple really…" replied Naraku. "Even though Angel Dust would most likely get through Resshin's Stone Skin, the problem is that… I didn't master it completely myself…" at hearing that Naruto's eyes widen:

"What? Then what the hell were you bursting about for being 'one of the three that mastered it'? You suck! And why the hell did you showed it to me now? Since you didn't mastered it, we both could've end up dead!"

"I didn't said I mastered it…" corrected the former leaf-nin. "I said I was able to perform it… if I were to use it against Resshin, I might have lost control and kill him, myself and all of you guys… that's the risk I couldn't take, even at the cost of losing my own life and not fulfilling the promise… as for the presentation you just saw, I used a very small among of chakra… in worst case scenario, we would get injured, but there was no threat to our lives…"

"I see…" announced Naruto, lowering his head. "Okay then, what do I have to do to learn it?"

"First I'll tell you the basics, so you'll be able to train by yourself… I have to train as well and above that, even with me around, if the jutsu would get out of your hands, I wouldn't be able to do anything anyway…"

---End of Flashback---

"Well, seems like that guy took his training seriously…" noticed Naraku as he stood up as well and bowed towards the Sand kunoichi: "Thank you for the meal, Temari-san…" and with that he turned to his little companion and bowed as well: "Tamao-chan… now, please excuse me while I go train myself…" and so he left the room too.

"Guess we might get going as well…" announced Hinako as she wrapped her hands around Hinata and Tamao. "Hey, Kasumi, wanna join us?" and with that she looked at the former mist-nin who just headed to the door.

"No, thanks…" she replied simply and left the room.

"_Life of a party…_" the green-haired girl sweat dropped and turned to Yari: "How about you?"

"Sorry, but…" replied the spear user as she looked at Gaara. "I have things to do as well…"

"Guess it'll be just you and me today…" announced Hinako cheerfully as she dragged both shy girls outside: "We'll come back before evening…"

"Yeah, we might as well get going too…" said Temari as she stared at Shikamaru. "Today we're doing something of my choice…" and with that she grabbed the lazy shinobi by the collar and headed to the door: "See you later…"

"Why do all women have to be so troublesome?" asked the shadow user, yet he didn't seem to put a struggle in any way.

"Everybody's leaving…" noticed Kankuro. "And who's gonna help me wash the dishes, eh? Temari, it was your turn, dammit!" but the moment he said so Gaara stood up and started to gather all the plates, saying:

"I'll help…"

The next moment Yari also stood up and began gathering glasses: "Yeah, I can help too…"

"_Those two…_" thought the puppeteer as he gave a worried look to his brother and the spear user. "_Can things ever return to the way they used to be?_"

----------

"S-so… what are we gonna do first, Hinako-san?" asked Hinata shyly as she walked along with the two missing-nins through the streets of Suna.

"That's simple…" announced the green-haired girl with a widen smile: "First we have to get you guys a new look… something cuter and more… sexy…" she added with an evil smirk. Suddenly she stopped and her smile widen even more: "This place will do…" and with that she looked at a big building with a sign-board: 'Cloth Land'.

As they walked inside, both shy girls looked around to see all sorts of clothes: from night dresses, through casual wear and even something to wear on the beach. Instantly spotting those last mentioned, both blushed, imagining themselves wearing something like that.

"Good, I see you're already looking for the right stuff…" joked Hinako and she leaned on their shoulders. "But since this is your first time doing this, I believe she should start with something more… casual. Okay, so were do they have kimonos?"

"H-Hinako, I… I really… I really don't…" began Tamao quietly, but she was instantly interrupted by the green-haired girl:

"Of course you don't… this is just the start… once we're done here, we're off to buy ourselves some perfume… and then a special lesson of dating tips from yours truly… me…"

----------

Gaara handed Yari another plate in order for her to dry it up. The girl took the dish from him and began to move her clout around it. Neither of them said anything since the moment they entered the kitchen. The blue-haired girl was the first one to break the silence:

"Gaara-kun…" she began without rising her eyes from the plate she have been cleaning. "About what happened all those years ago…" but at this point she was interrupted by the redhead:

"Please, don't… I do not know what were your reasons for doing so back then and finding out now would be pointless… it is in the past… I however should thank you… back then, when you attacked me with your spear… at that point I didn't truly realized what happened… but I do now…"

"I shouldn't raise that spear at you in the first place…" announced the girl and lowered her head.

"What's done is done…" Gaara interrupted her again. Silence once more felt between them and this time the Kazekage was the one to break it after a little while: "You once accepted me when no-one else dared to do so… I'm grateful for that… and now I can repay you in the same way…"

Yari smiled to him warmly and then took another plate that he handed her. She took it and the moment she began cleaning it, she declared:

_When stars visit the sky and the moon is shining bright,_

_Everything falls asleep and day becomes night._

_When darkness and light co-exist at the same time,_

_I stay awake, thinking what I have and what is truly mine…_

_Illusion or reality, who can really tell?_

_Everything disappears with the sound of morning bell._

_But with it always comes new hope, another day,_

_And for it to be peaceful and happy, that is for what I pray._

The redhead boy looked at her with his eyes a bit widen and then announced after a short silence: "Back then… you skipped the last, two lines…"

"Back then…" she replied, still smiling warmly to him: "I did believed in them…"

Gaara stared at her for a moment and then, after nodding slightly, gave her a small smile. He then returned to washing dishes just to see a lump of soap landing in the kitchen sink before him, spraying him with water.

He turned to the blue-haired girl, who was now laughing widely, and after returning the smile he picked up a bowl from the sink, just to release the water that was still in it onto the former sand-nin.

"So, you want a piece of me?" asked Yari, putting on her tuff face and reaching for the bowl she just cleaned.

Kankuro was walking next to the kitchen when he suddenly heard laughs coming from inside. He took a quick pick and smiled slightly, seeing his brother standing over Yari, who was laying on the floor, and pouring out water from the sink right onto the kunoichi.

The blue-haired girl acted like she was struggling on the floor and yelled between her laughs: "No fair, you used that stupid sand of yours again!"

---That evening---

Naraku settled down next to Naruto on the floor and began drinking some juice from the glass. The blonde was also drinking, only he had water in the bottle. The former leaf-nin instantly noticed sweat drops coming down his face and smiling to himself, he asked: "So, how's your training going? Made any progress since last night?"

"Not really…" admitted whisker-marks. "But you can be sure I'll master that crappy technique! Just you wait!" and with that he took the bottle to his mouth again. Naraku soon followed.

Just then Hinako appeared in the frame of the door and seeing the two boys, she grinned, saying: "Good, you're both here. Naraku-sama, Naruto, lend me your eyes for a moment and allow me to introduce someone to you…" and with that she disappeared from the sight.

The two boys just exchanged glances quick, still drinking their liquids and the moment the green-haired girl appeared in the frame of the door again, they both choked on their drinks.

Naraku was quick to recover, but Naruto seemed to have some problems, so the former leaf-nin gave him few pats on the back, without turning away from the frame of the door.

What made them choked on their drinks was the sight of Tamao and Hinata appearing in between the frames, however none of them was wearing her casual clothes. In stead they both had kimonos on.

Hinata was dressed in a yellow kimono, decorated with palms all over. She had a small, dark blue ribbon used as a belt and a big, yellow one tying her hair (_A/N: how Hinako manage that, considering Hinata had short hair, is something even I don't know_). Tamao on the other hand was wearing a black one with a golden crane on the left shoulder and red flowers on the bottom right. She too used a ribbon as some sort of a belt, only her was big and red.

Both girls were blushing deeply as they stood in front of the two, shocked boys. After a longer moment of staring, Naraku finally broke the, a little uncomfortable, silence: "Wow, Tamao-chan, Hinata-chan, you look… really beautiful…" and with that he stopped his eyes on the former stone-nin: "But I thought you didn't like that sort of dress, Tamao-chan…"

"Yeah, Hinata-chan, this outfit rocks!" yelled Naruto as he got to his feet.

"I… I…" began the girl, blushing even more. Hinako instantly noticed that her friend was unable to say anything, so she decided to take action:

"Well, we just wanted to know your opinion, since we'll be going to that festival tomorrow, and we stopped by to wish you a good night sleep…" she announced, pushing the two, blushing girls towards their room: "See you in the morning…" and with that she leaned over to the two boys and whispered: "This is just phase one… they're not aware, but I bought them even better dresses…" and as she said so both Naraku and Naruto blushed as well, becoming just as red as the girls were.

As the three kunoichi disappeared in the hallway, Naraku sighed to himself: "_Hinako is playing matchmaker again… if this'll turn out the way it did in the Mountain Country, I'm gonna hang myself…_" and with that he looked at the blonde and handed his a hanky: "Here, wipe your nose…"

The whisker-marks took it and did as the former leaf-nin asked him to do. Naraku smiled under his nose as he slowly walked back to the place they were sitting before the 'kimono incident': "_Maybe it's for the best anyway? Hinata's too shy to ask and Naruto's too stupid to figure out… but why did she involved Tamao-chan as well?_"

Meanwhile the three kunoichi walked towards their room. Hinata, who was walking in the middle, slowed down a bit so that Hinako could reach her and the moment she did so, the white-eyed girl said: "Hinako-san… I…" but then the green-haired girl interrupted her:

"Don't… it's not needed. You know, about that festival tomorrow that Kankuro talked about… how about we go there to have fun? I could convince that blonde dope to tag along too…"

"T-Thank you…" Hinata slightly bowed to the girl.

"Bah, I can't do that much really…" replied Hinako as she hid her hands in her pockets. "Making a wish would be way more effective, if you ask me…" and with that she pointed her head at the sky.

As the white-eyed girl looked in the direction the green-haired girl pointed, she noticed a star falling from the sky. With a tiny smile and a slight blush on her face, she made her wish and couldn't wait for tomorrow.

----------

A hooded figure ran through the desert, leaving as few trances as it was only possible. He wished for a sandstorm to cover the foot steps he was leaving behind. The sun was halfway hidden behind the horizon, so soon it'd be a little easier for him to keep going.

"_If the information I got in that town was true, then most likely they headed there…_" he thought to himself. "_But what was that about a group of shinobi? Did they found any survivals? At any point, I have to warn them…_" but at that moment he bended over, thus avoiding a kunai that flew just above his head.

As he slowly turned around, he saw four sound-nins standing in front of him: "So, you finally decided to show yourselves? I saw you tailing me a while back, but I was hoping to shake you off in the night..."

"We were ordered to wait for the leader in case of finding any, Konoha survivals…" replied one of the Oto shinobi. "But that's not really important… we'll just kill you ourselves… there's no need for the leader to take action…"

Hearing that the hooded man smirked: "You say you'll dispose of me? Well then, let me tell you that you'd require at least four more men to take me down…" and with that he went into his fighting stance.

* * *

And that' it for this time. Hope you liked it and that you'll leave a review once you're done. 

Not much to write in the jutsu encyclopedia this time, but here it comes anyway:

_Mitsukai Hokori _(Angel Dust) – well, what can I say? I believe that the jutsu itself was pretty well described by Naraku, so there really isn't much to write about in this case… the only thing that comes to my mind is the fact that in this case the user concentrates the chakra in hand and the attack is used pretty much in the same way as Rasengan or Chidori.

And that's really it. Thanks for reading and until next time, hopefully.


	9. Dark Clouds Gather

Yup, it's me again, screwing the studying for my exams (I'm so gonna regret that later) and writing this. Well, I didn't plan to update this for at least five, more days, but I got a sudden inspiration and decided to write it, falling behind with my studies in the process, so I hope you're going to like this one.

I'm glad most of you enjoyed the kimono part from the previous chapter as it was one of my favorite as well. On the positive side, more girls in kimonos are coming up (sorry to all Kasumi fans though, she's the only one that won't put one on). But romance fans will most likely be happy with this one, coz that's the part that'll develop the most in this chappie.

I hate to be a spoiler, so I guess I'll just stop there. I must admit however that I'm way more happy about how this chapter turned out then I was from the previous one.

So, without further to do, please enjoy the next chapter of "Shinobi Story":

**Chapter #9: Dark Clouds Gather**

**_Title Page:_** Naruto and Hinata are sitting on a branch in the park and the Hyuuga heiress is resting her head on the boy's shoulder as she sleeps, smiling and blushing at the same time.

Naraku stretched himself and yawned. The hour was still pretty early for him, so he rubbed his eyes to shake the sleep from them. As his vision became clearer, a blush appeared on his face, coz right before him stood both Tamao and Hinata, again in their kimonos from yesterday. But above that, this time also Hinako put on hers: a green one with sliver branches all over it and a big, yellow ribbon tied on her back.

"Naraku-sama, you're already awake!" yelled the green-haired girl happily. "This'll make it way easier! We're going to the festival and we're hoping that you'd join us!"

"Festival?" asked the former leaf-nin, still a bit unconscious. "What festival?"

"Temari-san told us about it…" replied Tamao quietly. "Festival of the Wind… it'll take place in the Suna for the next, three days… I-it's to celebrate the forming of the H-hidden Sand Village… there'll be games and fireworks…" but with that she blushed and lowered her head as she realized Naraku was looking at her surprised.

"Okay, but why are you going at this hour? It's like eight in the morning…"

"The festival begins at that hour exactly!" replied Hinako happily. "Come on, Naraku-sama, everyone will go! Kankuro already gave me his word back there that he'll show up and Gaara-san also said he'll drop by as soon as he'll finish his work… Yari and Kasumi will tag along as well…"

"Are you seriously thinking you'll convince Kasumi to join us?" asked the former leaf-nin with a little annoying smile.

Hinako rethought what she just said and then corrected: "Yari will tag along as well… I'm sure that the pinhead will join too…"

"And what about Shikamaru and Temari?"

"T-they already left…" replied Hinata shyly.

Naraku stood there for a moment and then, with a sigh, turned around and headed to his room: "Okay, I'll go, just give me a moment to bath and all…" and with that he disappeared behind the door.

About an hour later the former leaf-nin was already walking down the streets of Hidden Sand Village in his usual outfit along with the three girls in kimonos and Naruto, who still haven't awaken completely.

As they reached the main square, located in the middle of Suna, Hinata got stunned by all the decorations and costumes that appeared before her eyes: everywhere she saw Chinese lanterns (_A/N: just as a note, I know that China doesn't exist in 'Naruto' world, but it's just how those things are called_) in all colors and every, single one of them had a golden kanji for 'wind' painted on it.

Ribbons, that were hanging from the buildings gave her an impression of a rainbow that was falling from the sky. Some of them even had words written with silver letters on them, most of which talked about wind.

All around stood stands with different purposes: some were selling souvenirs and costumes, others were for games like tossing a ball at the bottles that stood on the table few meters away or dart-throwing.

Most people had masks on their faces, which usually represented desert creatures, like vultures or vipers, but there were also raccoons, lions and even dragons. Naruto just couldn't help himself and bought a fox mask.

"What's with all the masks?" asked Hinako as a man wearing a tiger costume passed her. "I mean, what those have to do with wind?"

"Cooling wind can often be the last hope of those who travel through the desert…" they all heard a voice and as they turned in the direction it came from, they was Temari walking around with Shikamaru. The Sand kunoichi had her hands wrapped around the lazy shinobi's arm, who had his head turned away as if he didn't care, but Naraku couldn't not spot a blush appearing on the shadow user's face. "Those costumes are supposed to show that the chilling breeze is the savior for all creatures… well, nowadays it's not kept in a tradition, coz the masks represent every, living animal, along with those that doesn't exist on the desert, however in the older days you could only buy desert animal masks…"

The Sand kunoichi was wearing a violet kimono with silver leaves all over it, along with the big, dark blue ribbon on its back, Shikamaru however didn't wear any, casual clothes, as Naruto thought, it was because it'd be too troublesome for him to put them on.

As Temari explained the reasons behind the masks, Naraku turned to the stand that was selling masks and noticing the ones he wanted, he picked out some money to buy it. As the merchant took the money, he gave the former leaf-nin three masks in return. The young Monodane walked over to the three kunoichi and gave each one mask: a tiger one for Hinako, a rabbit for Tamao and a fox for Hinata.

The green-haired girl took the present and smiled widely to the boy, but the other, two girls just grabbed their masked and bowed, trying to hide deep blushes that appeared on their faces.

"Well, sorry but I guess we'll be leaving you to yourselves…" announced Temari as she looked to one end of the square. "I see a tossing stand where you can win a big, raccoon mascot… come on, I want one…" and with that she dragged Shikamaru with her, making him blush a bit more and saying 'why all women are so troublesome', making Naruto held back his laughter. "Oh yeah, remember to be here in the evening…" the Sand kunoichi called from afar. "The fireworks are gonna be great!" and with that she disappeared with the lazy ninja in the crowd.

"So I guess we should find ourselves something to do too…" said the whisker-marks as he kept staring where Temari and Shikamaru just disappeared. "Lets look for some ramen stand!" and with that he threw his fist to the sky.

"Ramen stand?" Hinako's eyebrow went up. "How can you even eat that junk?"

"Don't insult RAMEN!" yelled Naraku, making the green-haired girl sweat dropped and think to herself: "_Well, nobody's perfect…_"

Tamao only giggled and then her eyes stopped at a certain stand. She walked over to the former leaf-nin and pulled his shirt a little, thus gaining his attention: "Um, Naraku-kun…" and with that she pointed at the stand.

The young Monodane smiled under his nose and turned to the blonde: "Oi, Naruto, what'd you say if we'd check our strength? Tamao-chan just noticed the hammer challenge… the loser will have to treat everyone to the food they like best…"

"You're no, weak ass!" replied the Kyuubi container with a smile.

---Some time later at the Kazekage Tower---

Gaara was sitting at his desk, signing another document. Today has surely been a long one. He yawned slightly and then looked out the window, just to see Yari standing in it, dressed in her kimono which was light blue with small stars around her left hip and few, big ones on her right shoulder. It had a large, red ribbon wrapped on the back and the redhead also noticed butterfly clips in the girl's blue hair. "Wha…?"

"You're still here?" she interrupted him in an annoyed voice. "Don't think I'll let you just sit here, when the Wind Festival takes place! Come on, I'm taking you with me…"

"I can't…" replied the Godaime, blushing slightly. "I have duties and…"

"Blah, blah, blah…" the kunoichi interrupted him again. "Eleven years ago you said Kankuro got sick and you had to take care of him… I'm not letting you off the hook this time around! I want a pink bear and you're going to win it for me!" and so she grabbed the boy's hand.

"But I'm not properly dress…" the redhead tried to defend himself.

"Don't worry, when you're going to walk around with a chick like me, no-one will even notice you…" she joked an pulled him harder, finally managing to make him get up from his chair. "Move it, before Shikamaru wins all the mascots for Temari-san!"

"About that…" responded Gaara with a smile. "I don't think you should be worrying…"

"Alright, that's it!" announced the kunoichi. "Either you'll go on your free will or I'll have to resolve to… drastic measures!"

"You wouldn't dare…" responded the Godaime with both fear and happiness appearing on his face. Yari only answered with a grin. "You would…" he sighed and walked over to the window, smiling. "I kinda knew someday I'll regret revealing that to you… I'll get you back for terrorizing me with it when we get back…"

"Whatever…" replied the blue-haired girl with a smile. "Just win me that pink bear!"

---Back at the Festival---

Naruto threw another dart at the balloons, yet missed again. Naraku placed his hand on the blonde's shoulder, holding back his laughter: "It seems that you lost again… I have no idea why you're so desperate to win that panda, however as I see it, there's no way you're going to make it…"

"I'll get it this time!" assured the whisker-marks.

"That's what you said last time…" reminded Hinako. "And the one before that… and one before that… and before that… oh, and before that… and lets not forget…"

"I get the point…" Naruto interrupted her, crossing his arms. Just then they heard balloons popping and saw Hinata taking the huge, panda mascot from the owner of the dart game stand. "Hinata-chan?" the blonde's blue eyes widen in surprise as he saw Hyuuga heiress walking towards them and carrying a panda that was at least as big as herself in her arms.

"That's what I call good aim…" the green-haired girl complimented her. "A girl turned out to be better then you… if that's not pathetic, I don't know what is…" she joked, turning to Naruto and then winking to the white-eyed girl.

Hinata walked closer to the loud mouth and handed him the bear, her face completely red: "H-here you go, N-naruto-kun…" she managed to say shaking slightly.

Naraku only slimed under his nose at the sight, as he handed Tamao ice cream that she wanted. The girl's face turned red just like Hinata's, she however managed to hid it with the rabbit mask the former leaf-nin bought her earlier: "T-thank you, Naraku-kun…" she bowed before turning around and lifting her mask up in order to eat her ice cream and avoid her face being seen by the young Monodane.

"But this sucks…" announced Hinako, looking at both pairs. "Where's the Love Tunnel or something?" and the moment she said so, everyone's faces turned red, except her own. She smirked and then added: "I wanna ride it with someone!"

"In stead, why don't we go to the Fortune Teller?" purposed Naruto as he pointed at a nearby tent. "It could be fun…"

"No need for me to go there…" replied the green-haired girl playfully as she wrapped her hands around the young Monodane's arm. "I know my future is with Naraku-sama…" and with that she stick her tongue at Tamao, who blushed slightly as well as gave her companion an angry look.

Naraku only sweat dropped, completely clueless as to how he should react. "I don't believe in fortune telling…" he finally said, freeing himself from Hinako's grip. "Lets go eat that dinner Naruto owes us…" and with that a wide grin appeared on his face, which made the blonde lower his head at the thought how much he'll have to spend.

---Somewhere in Suna---

Kasumi walked with hands in her pockets through the streets of the Hidden Sand, heading towards the main square. She was wearing her usual clothes though. "_Why in the world am I even doing this? It's just some lame festival… and there's no way in hell I'm putting a kimono on!_" but just then she stopped and looked over her shoulder at the hooded man that just passed her. "_Just now… and those eyes…_"

---Meanwhile, outside Suna---

"So, you're telling me you allowed him to escape?" asked a grim voice of a figure that was hidden in the shadows of the tent. The figure was looking with shining, red eyes at the sound-nin who was kneeling before him. He didn't dared to answer, so he only nodded his head.

At seeing that the figure stood up front the throne-like chair it was sitting on and walked over to the scared sound-nin. As he came to the light, it appeared that he had medium-length, gelled up, raven black hair and his eyes were now red. He was wearing a white shirt, unbuttoned at the top and black pants, along with the typical, Sound rope-like belt (_A/N: sorry, I have no idea what it is really, but all the sound-nins has it… except Kabuto_). The man also noticed a fang earring in the man's left ear and a golden hilt of the sword that was attached to his back.

The raven-haired grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up: "You dare return to me alive without completing your mission? Do you even realize who you let escape? That man is one of the most dangerous, Konoha survivals…" he announced, his voice still cold, yet besides that emotionless.

"F-forgive me, Sasuke-sama…" begged the sound-nin, gasping for air.

"Forgiveness…" began the crimson-eyed man. "Is not one of my traits…" and with that he snapped the man's neck and let him fall to the ground. He then turned to another sound-nin that was standing right beside the throne and ordered: "Split our forces… send half of them south, I've just received orders from Kabuto… the other half will head towards Hidden Sand… this time, I'll take care of him personally…" and with that he exited the tent.

---Meanwhile, far away---

Hinato and Hanone walked inside the cave and instantly shadows surrounded them. A thick mist was covering their way, hiding every single stone. Neither of them stopped however, they walked forward, easily avoiding all the obstacles, until they reached a wide cavern with stalactites hanging from above and stalagmites raising from the ground.

The moment they entered, they saw a huge figure appearing in the mist. The man that stood before them was at least one and a half of a typical, human size and had large hands from the elbows to the tops of his fingers. "You're late…" he said in a loud voice.

"What took you so long?" another voice came and this one belong to a female, who was hanging from the ceiling, with her feet on it. She too was hidden in the mist and the only thing you could tell about her was that she had red eyes and long hair. "Don't tell me you weren't able to complete a simple mission like the one you were send to do…"

"Mind your own business, Aki…" Hinato replied coldly, without even looking at the hanging girl. "It was Resshin-sama's order and we had no choice in that matter…"

"Did you now?" another voice was heard and this one belong to a man who was sitting on a large rock, He too was hidden in the mist and the only thing that could be told about him, was that he had spiky hair. "That Naraku guy has to be strong then, since he managed to defeat both of you… maybe Resshin-sama will allow me to have some fun with him?"

"First of all, Toge, he didn't defeated us both…" corrected Hanone. "We never fought him… and further more, I doubt you'd be able to kill him on your own… in a one on one fight, you'd most likely get instantly killed…"

"Not a problem…" responded the one called Toge. "It's not like I care about life, since I don't have much of it left anyway…"

"But even with your limited time, you're still of use to us…" announced another voice, which belong to a man who stood at the far end of the cavern and from the shadow of his figure you could tell he had long hair and was wearing an outfit with wide sleeves. "Do not forget why you are here…"

"Now that's not nice…" came a voice, which belong to a large man, full of muscle, who had a strange ring attached to his back with few balls placed in it. From the shadow of his figure you could also tell he was bold. "You know Resshin-sama took him for different reasons…"

"The reason for Toge to be here is of no importance…" reminded another voice which belong to a figure of normal, human size with spiky hair and some weird-looking things attached to its back. "What I'm interested in is why did you allowed the Monodane to live? You should've finished him before Resshin-sama arrived… quite disappointing…"

"You're saying you'd do better?" asked Hanone, turning to the figure.

"Surely…" replied the figure immediately.

Hanone was now boiling and was ready to jump straight at the figure, when suddenly a man appeared between him and Hinato, who placed his arms around them. He was wearing a violet cloak with a hood on his head, His eyes were black and you could spot a hitae-ate with the slashed symbol of the mountains used as a belt. "Now, now…" the man said. "The last thing we need is to get into fights before Resshin-sama's arrival…"

"Whatever…" responded Hanone, calming down and looking around. "But there are two people missing… where are Hasaki and Tsumeko?" he demanded.

"They have… other business" replied the last figure, a tall man. "They went with Resshin-sama's allowance… Tsumeko was really happy that he got his agreement… it's been a long time since he visited his home village… and speaking of Resshin-sama…" and with that he pointed with his head at the other end of the cavern.

There Resshin slowly walked inside and looked around. A small smile appeared on his face as he announced loud enough for everyone gathered to hear him: "Well, well, well, everyone really came… even though I gave you orders, I didn't expect for you to manage, Aki… Saikyou…" and with that he turned to the figures from which one was hanging from the ceiling and the other was the large man with huge arms. "But since we're here, I believe there's no point in making a long entrance… lets begin… the secret meeting of Juusan Akuma…"

* * *

And this is where this chapter ends. A lot is to be revealed in the next. Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a review once you're done.

Well, no jutsu encyclopedia this time around, however I can give you another character profile. Lets do Hinako this time:

_Name:_ Banrai Hinako

_Name origins:_ her first name, written without the –ko at the end can be translated simply as 'chick'… I figure it'll fit perfectly as she was thought to be very attractive. Her clan's name, Banrai, in this case should be translated as 'heavy thunder'.

_Birth Date:_ 13th of February

_Age:_ 19 years old

_Blood type:_ 0

_Height:_ 150,3 cm

_Weight:_ 42,8 kg

_Rank:_ currently not specified, when she left her village, she was a chuunin

_Village:_ Hidden Cloud (Kumo Gakure)

_Techniques (used so far):_ none

_Favorite food:_ sushi

_Favorite color:_ green

_Family:_ she doesn't like to talk about it, but those who know her a bit heard that she has an older sister named Hinato (which you already met) and stories about her mother, though she never spoke her name

And that's really that for this time. Hope you liked it. Please leave me a review. Pretty please.

Best wishes and until next time, hopefully.


	10. Coming of an Age

**Dynamic Updatto!** Yeah, my grandma is feeling way better now and I just had this great deal of inspiration and so I'm updating ALL my fics this time around! Those of you guys, who read more then one of my fics, after reading this chapter, can go to the other fic they're reading to see 'what happened next'… and those who're reading only one are welcomed to check out my other fics, of course!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. It really means a lot to me. Most of your questions (and some requests) will be answer/granted in this chapter, so I'll allow myself to just get on with the show:

**Chapter #10: Coming of an Age**

**_Title Page:_** Naruto is riding on the dog sledge pulled by six foxes, with Hinata sitting on it

"Lets start off with getting rid of this annoying mist…" began Resshin as he threw a quick glare at the one wearing the violet cloak. As the man noticed the oldest Monodane llok, he instantly performed a single hand seal and the mist started to fade away, revealing the faces of everyone gathered in the cavern. "That's better…" announced Resshin, yet he kept looking at the hooded man: "Henkou, I believe I told you that I do not wish or this during our meetings… did I not?"

"You did, Resshin-sama…" replied the former mountain-nin, bowing slightly. "I just thought that it'd be easier to lose possibly tail, if there was a need to, this way…"

"Then don't think next time, coz it seems you're not too good in that…" a huge man cut it. He had long, black hair, green eyes and an armor was covering his torso (_A/N: this one I really don't know how to describe well… it's similar to the one Chouji wears now_). He was wearing a brown t-shirt and a little baggy pants in the same color. His arms were bigger from his elbows to his fingers and he had a slashed Iwa hitae-ate on his forehead.

Henkou ignored the former stone-nin's comment and limited himself to throwing a quick glare at the large man. The oldest Monodane kept quiet and when he noticed the quarrel was over, he continued: "The reason why Juusan Akuma was formed… our goal… is finally at hand. We've already managed to get the Dragon symbol and with the all-out war that Orochimaru has caused, getting the other eleven became much easier… "

"Indeed…" nodded the man with spiky, blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a grey t-shirt and little baggy, white pants. Both his arms were covered in bandages and he was carrying three, wooden umbrellas on his back. He also had a headband with a slashed, rain symbol on his forehead. "Hakkotsu and I manage to get the Rat symbol with no trouble at all… the Ame leader was pretty helpful in that matter… it'd seem life treating situations encourages people to talk more… freely…" and saying so he chuckled.

"You sure talk all big for someone who required that much time in getting his symbol…" announced a woman with long, black hair and red eyes, wearing a black cloak that covered the rest of her body. She was the one hanging from the ceiling. "Saikyou and I gotten the Cow ages ago…" and with that she smiled evilly.

"This is not a contest, Aki…" announced a man with spiky, brown hair and green eyes, wearing a green t-shirt and baggy, brown pants. He had a gray vest and there was a golden bracelet with spikes on the outside on his left arm. He wore a hitae-ate with the slashed, Grass symbol on his forehead. "We are only doing this for our own sake…"

"Perhaps…" replied the black-haired woman. "But it's still more fun this way…"

"Are you saying…" came a cold voice, which belonged to a man with long, white hair and teal eyes, wearing a grey robe with white sleeves. You could spot a headband with the slashed Sound symbol used as a belt. "That working under Resshin-sama's command is not enough for you to get the job done?"

"Chill, Hakkotsu…" the woman, Aki, shoot back. "I got the symbol, didn't I?"

"I just doubt your trustworthiness…" announced the white-haired man coldly.

"That makes three symbols already…" stated Resshin calmly as he walked between the two, making Hakkotsu bow slightly and Aki turn around to look at the wall. "That leaves only your report, Hishigu…" and with that he turned to the tall man full of muscles.

The man, surprisingly, had four arms and was wearing a red, sleeveless shirt. He had long, black hair, clipped in a ponytail and blue eyes. He wore baggy, black pants and had a hitae-ate with the slashed Tree symbol on his forehead.

"The Pig symbol is secured…" he announced shortly with both pairs of his hands crossed.

"Eight left then…" noticed Hanone with a smirk. "Sounds simple enough to get…"

"It may seem that way…" began a big man, sitting on the rock in a meditation pose, who was wearing a green shirt with thorn sleeves and grey pants. He was bold and his eyes were closed, however you could also spot a big ring attached to his back with several, metal balls on it. His hitae-ate was nowhere in sight "However you must remember that everything can become a challenge if you won't prepare yourself for it properly…"

"Thanks, mister Smarty Pants…" replied the former rain-nin. "You know, Busshari, you can really piss a guy with that 'man and the mountain' talk… you choose the wrong carrier, if you'd become a philosopher, you'd earn millions by now…" he joked.

"Shisou, enough!" Resshin raised his voice slightly, making the umbrella user quiet down in an instant. "You all know your parts and our plans have not changed…" the oldest Monodane continued calmly after a short silence. "We know the location of the seven symbol, but we still don't posses any knowledge of the last one's whereabouts…"

"I recall that was your job, Henkou…" announced Hinato with a smirk as she turned to the hooded man. The former mountain-nin just threw her a quick glare and bowed slightly towards Resshin, saying:

"It's hard to trace… the one carrying it keeps on moving and sometimes it's hard to catch up… However I assure you, Resshin-sama, that we will find her and when that happens, the Rooster symbol will get in our hands…"

"But prepared…" was all the former leaf-nin replied. "After all, the one carrying it is not to be taken lightly… leave the symbols you collected here and you may go… soon our victory will become a fact…" and the moment he said so, all the figures disappeared into the darkness. "_Hasaki and Tsumeko didn't make it in time after all… oh well, doesn't matter… out of everyone these two are the last ones to fail…_" and with that he walked deeper into the cavern.

---Back in the Suna---

Hinako was drinking soda through a straw as she walked though the streets of Hidden Sand and looked at the stands with different things. Then, suddenly, she turned her head so quickly Naraku was surprised she didn't broke her neck. He came closer to see what drew her attention and noticed a stand selling jewelry.

"_This is bad…_" the young Monodane thought with horror. "_The last time she went into a jewelry shop, I ended buying her those stupid earrings… if I won't get her away from here, we'll all end up broke…_" and with that last thought he sweat dropped. He then turned back to where the other should be to tell them about, only to noticed two people where missing. "Where are Hinata and Naruto?" he asked Tamao surprised.

"T-they said that… t-there was a s-stand they wanted t-to visit…" replied the former stone-nin, putting her fingers together. "They said they'll be right back…" she added quietly.

"Naraku-sama…" the green-haired girl called him with a melody voice. "Could you come over here for a moment?" the former leaf-nin sweat dropped even more before lowering his head and heading in the direction the voice came.

"If I'm not back in ten minutes…" he said to Tamao before leaving. "Call for an ANBU squad…" and so he joined Hinako at the stand, leaving the blonde kunoichi giggling.

"Looks like luck is on our side, yeah…" announced the hooded figure, dressed in the black cloak with red cloud on it, standing on top of a nearby building and observing the trio. "Not just Shukaku, but the Kyuubi is here too… we can get quite a bunch just tonight, yeah…"

"Don't push it, Deidara…" replied another figure, dressed in the same cloak, only this one seemed to be kneeling and had a weird, scorpion's tail coming from under his robe. "Three at a time can be a problem even for us…"

"Whatever…" came a response. "One thing is for sure: it's gonna be fun tonight, yeah..."

---That time, elsewhere---

Naruto gave Hinata the cotton candy he just bought and began to eat his own. The Hyuuga heiress's face turned red as she took the offered candy and took a bite herself. The two slowly began walking down the street in silence. After a short walk the Kyuubi vessel looked to the sky that was now black. Night has wrapped the Hidden Sand in darkness.

"It's quite amazing really…" he stated, still staring at the sky. "With the current situation, where every, shinobi village fights all the other, for Suna to remain so calm… almost as if the war didn't reach this desert…"

"M-maybe it's just their way… of escaping from it all?" noticed Hinata shyly, hiding her face behind the candy when the blonde looked at her.

"Peace is not something a shinobi can exist with…" Naruto declared. "One of the basic rules of ninjutsu… for some reason that was the only one of them all I manage to memorize…" he gave a weak smile for a split second, before his face turned grim. "Maybe that's because I myself was never able to find that peace?"

"It's hard to find… having a demon sealed inside of you…" noticed the white-eyed girl even quieter then before, while taking a bite on her candy, which made it even harder to understand, yet the blonde knew exactly was she said.

"You don't carry one and it's hard to call your life a fairytale too, Hinata-chan…" he reminded her. "The way I see it, we're not so different… we were both cursed at birth: me with the Kyuubi… and you with your bloodline limit. The only thing we could've done was… to accept that fact…" he let out a sigh and then smiled to her: "In a way, I felt that you were the only one in Konoha, who could understand me…"

The Hyuuga heiress's face redden even more as she heard that. The girl tried to hide it behind her cotton candy, feeling that her skin had completely changed color. The blonde didn't seem to noticed that and went on like nothing happened: "But we both found people who accepted us the way we were and not for what we had… I was really happy when that happened… and I really wish that all of them have made it safely out of Konoha when the Sound attacked… but I guess I should come clean…" and with that his face became serious as it got closer and closer to the white-eyed girl's face, which was now completely red: "I never admitted it, Hinata-chan, but…"

At this point the kunoichi felt that she started sweating. Her face couldn't get redder then it already was. She froze, thinking that she knew what was coming. The blonde hesitated for a second himself, but then finished what he wanted to say: "But I'm really glad that out of everyone I know, it's you I ended up running away with…"

Now Hinata was close to fainting. "_D-did Naruto-kun just said… what I think he did?_"

"We should get back…" he announced after a short silence. "Naraku and the others might start to get worried…" and so the two headed to where their companions should be, but the blush on Hinata's face didn't seemed to fade at all.

---Meanwhile---

Kasumi threw her kunai at the hooded man's back only to see a chakra sphere get emitted from his body, stopping the knife before it reach its target. In the next instant the man started spinning and a tiny smirk appeared on the former mist-nin's smirk. "I knew those eyes of yours looked familiar… and now that you used Kaiten I'm sure… what's your connection with Hinata, ugly?"

The man turned to face her, revealing that he had long, black hair, clipped in a ponytail (_A/N: sorry, but his new looks sucks in my opinion_) and completely white eyes. He had a hitae-ate with the Leaf symbol on his forehead and as he got to his fighting stance, Kasumi noticed his right hand was wrapped in bandages. "What does a missing-nin from the Kiri can look in the Suna?" the boy replied coldly with a question as if he didn't hear what the kunoichi asked him.

"It's not nice to ask something before you ask the question you was asked…" announced the former mist-nin as she reached for her katana. "You seem to be related to Hinata, so if possible I'd prefer not to kill you, but you don't seem like one who wishes to talk…"

"You… know Hinata-sama?" the boy's eyes widen slightly at what he heard. "Where is she?"

"Another question and you still haven't answered mine…" reminded Kasumi. "Let's start with something easy, like what's your name?"

"Hyuuga Neji…" replied the boy as he dropped his fighting stance.

---That time, somewhere else---

"Come on, Gaara-kun, move it!" Yari called after the Kazekage, trying to look angry. "I really want that pink panda, you know…" she joked, making a tiny smile appear on the redhead boy's face.

"But why does it have to be pink?" he asked, still smiling.

"You're really clueless sometimes, Gaara-kun…" announced the blue-haired girl, turning around to him so that their faces were just inches from one another, making a tiny blush appear on the Shukaku vessel's face. "Of course it has to be pink, coz…" be before she could finish, the redhead boy pulled her closer to himself.

In the next moment a wall of sand appeared around them. Yari turned around surprised and as the sand barrier got dispelled, she saw some strange spikes dropping to the ground and a weird-looking man standing at the end of the street. His entire body was covered in bandages, giving the impression he was a mummy. From beneath the bandages two, bloody red eyes glared at them, which send shivers down her spine, though she couldn't really understand why. The man's right hand had a metal glove with claws in stead of fingers on it. The former Sand kunoichi also spotted a halberd on his back and a hitae-ate with the slashed, sunglass symbol on the man's left arm. "_A missing-nin?_" blue-haired girl's eyes widen slightly at the sight of the headband.

"Great reflex, Gaara-san…" announced the man with an echoing and emotionless voice. "But that is to be expected, I suppose… after all, you were the only target I never really managed to kill…"

"So the time has come…" said the redhead boy. "You came for the Dog symbol, didn't you… Tsumeko?" the mummy only nodded. "I have no choice then… but to do what should be done ten years ago…" and the moment he said so sand in his gourd popped the cork out and began circling around its master and Yari.

---Back to Naruto---

"Where were you guys?" Naruto gave Naraku an accusing glare. "We looked for you everywhere!" and just then noticed Hinako, who stared with shining eyes at a strange necklace that the blonde was sure wasn't there the last time he saw the green-haired girl. The medallion had a big ruby in it, surrounded with gold and few, tiny diamonds. "What's that thing around your neck?" the loud mouth asked the ring user.

The former cloud-nin looked at him almost as if she just got out of the trance and held out her new decoration, so it was only an inch in front of Naruto's face, with a wide smile on her face: "Cool, isn't it? Naraku-sama just bought it!"

"And now I'm pretty much broke…" added the former leaf-nin quietly to Hinata and Tamao, who were standing right beside him: "Then again, it was either that or some lame looking, golden rings that cost about twice as much as that necklace… the last time I agreed to carry all our money, coz Hinako surely can take advantage of that…" and so he turned to the former stone-nin, trying to look disappointed: "I asked you to call for ANBU after ten minutes, Tamao-chan…" and thus the two, shy girls giggled.

Just then both Naraku and Naruto felt a strange sensation and acted instantly: the blonde grabbed Hinako by her waist and moved aside as a strange-looking blade cut the air where they were standing just a fracture of a second before. The young Monodane of the other hand pushed both Hinata and Tamao away while he himself jumped into the air, thus making a weird blade go under his feet. In the next moment the former leaf-nin landed on the stretched, making it struck into the ground.

As Naraku raised his head to look at the one who attacked them, all he saw where shuriken coming right at him. Acting on instinct, he moved his hands, deflecting all the shinobi stars with his metal protectors.

The former leaf-nin then looked out front and saw a man with spiky, black hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a black outfit with white armor (_A/N: a little similar to what ANBU wear_) and a hitae-ate with the slashed, Mist symbol on his forehead.

The blade that he attacked with was a sword with a really large blade, which seemed to be able to stretch thanks to the fact that several parts of it were connected with one another by chains and Naraku was just standing on one of those sections (_A/N: I really suck at describing that sort of swords… imagine Renji's from "Bleach" soul cutter_).

"That headband…" began the former leaf-nin calmly, not taking his eyes off the swordsman. "You're from Juusan Akuma, ain't ya?" the missing-nin only nodded. "The next question then should be what are you doing here, but you're not gonna answer, are you?"

"So you're Monodane Naraku…" stated the swordsman, ignoring the last question. "I must say that I've expected someone more… impressive… oh well, you'll do for a challenge for now… let me just tell you that I'm nothing like Hinato and Hanone… and I don't intend to go easy on you…"

"Bring it on then!" yelled the Kyuubi vessel as he prepared for battle, but then Naraku's voice stopped him: "No, Naruto! Take the girls and get away from here… I'll handle this guy…"

"I can help!" announced the blonde angry.

"I'm not saying that you can't…" replied the young Monodane. "But except my brother, Juusan Akuma always work in pairs… I see only one guy and that means his partner is somewhere in the village as well… I don't know what their goal is, but they have to be stopped… you look for the other one I'll hold him off your back until the ANBU will show up…"

The whisker-marks seemed like he wanted to argue for a moment, but the turned around and began running down the street with the three girls following him. Hinako however stopped after few meters and turned around. "_Naraku-sama…_" she thought to herself. "_Will you really manage?_"

"We need to inform Gaara about this and…" began Naruto and only then did he noticed someone was missing. He came to a stop with Tamao and Hinata doing the same a little confused. "Where's Hinako?" he asked.

The two girls turned around and noticed that the former cloud-nin really was gone. "M-maybe she went back t-to help Naraku-san?" wondered the white-eyed girl quietly.

"Destiny has funny ways of acting…" they all heard a voice coming from above and as the looked up they saw a certain, Sound shinobi standing on the wall and glancing down at them. "Wouldn't you agree, dope?"

Naruto just stared at him with his eyes widen, as he body started shaking from both excitement and anger: "Sasuke…"

* * *

And so this chapter ends here. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review once you're done. It'd really mean a lot. 

Quite a lot of action in the coming chapters, but after that you'll get to see more romance (not just GaaraxYari and NaruHina), so be patient.

No jutsu encyclopedia this time around, so the only thing left for me to say is 'see ya'.

Best wishes and have a great day. Until next time, hopefully.


	11. Their Own Battles

Hiya! I know it took me a long while to update this. I'm really sorry for it, but I had a lot of troubles lately (including some author blocks) and… well, I just hope I'll be able to finish the next chapter sooner.

Thanks for all the reviews from the last time. I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter and that you'll this one at least as much. Not much romance this time, but action fans should be pleased with this.

To all of you who were happy with Neji appearance, I'm afraid I have bad news: he won't show up in this one, but he has an important part to play in Suna battle itself and in later parts of the story.

I believe that with that said, all that's left for me to do, is to get on with it:

**Chapter #11: Their Own Battles**

**_Title Page:_** Yari and Gaara are posing to a photo. Yari is smiling widely and shows a victory sign towards the camera, wrapping her other arm around the redhead and the Kazekage is just staring at the girl, blushing slightly

Naraku jumper back, thus avoiding the incoming blade again. As Hasaki retreated his weapon, the young Monodane charged straight at the missing-nin with kunai already in his hands. As the swordsman's eyes widen, the former leaf-nin threw the knives at his adversary and began forming hand seals.

Acting on instinct, the Juusan Akuma member jumped into the air, thus avoiding the incoming kunai and with his swords still stretched, he began spinning around in mid-air. His katana acted as a whip and circled around him, before the missing-nin pushed it straight at the brown-haired boy.

Naraku immediately stopped the chain of hand seals and jumped up, landing on his hands on top of Hasaki's sword. In an instant the former leaf-nin jumped towards the Juusan member aiming a spin kick into his head. As the attack connected, the missing-nin's head shoot back, making him fall with his head first towards the ground.

In the last moment however the swordsman flipped and landed safely on his feet just few meters away from Naraku, who finished his set of hand seals while landing on the ground as well: "Hinote Kuiki: Ryuumori!" and with that a huge fireball escaped his mouth.

Having nowhere to run, Hasaki went through a chain of hand seals of his own and with the last one he called out: "Suiton: Suijinheki!" and right before the former leaf-nin's eyes a large water barrier surrounded the swordsman, saving him from the flames.

"_Such a jutsu with no water source near?_" Naraku thought to himself with a tiny smirk. "_This guy sure is good… I guess typical ways won't work… and Fire Domain won't do… I guess I have to bet this one on ice…"_ and so he performed another set of hand seals: "Mizu Kuiki: Fubuki no Jutsu!"

Hasaki's eyes widen as he saw water shoot from under the ground around Naraku as gazers and water drops turned into snowflakes as they came to the ground. A second later they began circling around the former leaf-nin and suddenly flew straight at the surprised missing-nin.

Instantly the Juusan member charged at the young Monodane, ignoring the cold he felt when the snowflakes began hitting him and the fact that his vision got almost completely white. As he estimated the distance he had to cover, in the moment he came to its end, he unleashed his katana once more.

The former leaf-nin had to jump back again in order to avoid the hit, yet he was so surprised that he didn't manage to act in time and his torso was shallowly cut by the tip of Hasaki's sword.

When his feet touched the ground, he looked at the missing-nin with cold eyes. "Well, for a Monodane, this is sure disappointing…" stated the swordsman. "Sure Hinato and Hanone aren't really strong, but since you made such an impression on them, I figured you'll be some sort of a challenge… so far you only did fine…"

Naraku looked around the street and then his sight stopped at the Juusan member again: "I'm only gonna ask you once: what is your objective? You came all this way just to kill me or is it something else? I promise that if you'll tell me I'll let you live…"

"Actually, after what I saw, I don't really think you're the one to make treats…"

"And you're not someone who should've became a shinobi if you haven't realized a thing that's quiet obvious… look around and maybe you'll understand…" responded the former leaf-nin coldly, not moving an inch.

"What are you getting at?" demanded the swordsman angry.

"So far you got it easy…" announced Naraku with the same, cold voice. "But now we're the only, two people on the street so I don't have to hold back, fearing I'll hurt someone anymore… that Snowstorm Skill just now… is nothing compared to other, ice techniques I know…"

"Is that suppose to scare me?" asked Hasaki, laughing shortly.

"No, actually… I just said it so you'd be aware of what awaits you from this point…" and so the young Monodane began another set of hand seals.

---That time, elsewhere in the Suna---

Sasuke jumped down from the wall and landed right in front of the three, shocked shinobi: "It's been a while, right bonehead?" he asked with a smile, looking at Naruto. "I never imagined that you'll be able to survive our attack on the Leaf…"

"Why are you here?" demanded the blonde, holding back his anger.

"Well, don't think it's because of you…" replied the Sharingan user with a little bored tone. "I didn't come here for you, though it's convenient that you're here… the reason I'm here is to kill Neji…"

At hearing that Hinata's eyes widen in surprise. "_Neji-niisan… is in the Suna?_"

"But who is this girl?" asked Sasuke as he stared at Tamao with an evil smile. "Oh, she's from the Iwa… or rather was…" he stated, noticing her headband. "I wonder why you guys actually travel with her, but that's not really important, I guess…"

"Hinata-chan, take Tamao and go, I'll take him on myself..." announced Naruto in an ordering tone. "The time when I wanted to take you back is long gone… now there's only one thing that I want from you and that's your head!"

"So much for that lifetime promise to Sakura…" stated the missing-nin laughing loudly. "But it doesn't matter, out of the three of you I'm interested only in you anyway… Kyuubi…" and as he said so, his eyes turned red.

"N-Naruto-san, are… are you s-sure that…" began Tamao, but then she stopped as she felt her arm being grabbed. She look back and saw Hinata pulling her away from the blonde and the raven-haired boy. "H-Hinata-san, what are you…?"

"Naruto-kun do not wish us to interfere…" stated the Hyuuga heiress simply. "He'd never forgive us if we'd get in the way…" and with that she smiled slightly. "Besides, I'm sure Naruto-kun wouldn't wish his friends to see him as he'll become in a moment…"

Naruto's whisker-marks became larger as his eyes turn red. Red chakra began surrounding him, his nails became claws and teeth grew into fangs. Sasuke kept smirking, standing confidentially with his arms crossed.

"This is so predictable…" he whined. "I assure you that this time it won't do you much, Dead Last…" and as he said so, the two charged at one another.

---That time, near the gates of the Suna---

Another sound-nin let out a yell of agony as toxin that entered his body began working. He collapsed to the ground with his view becoming completely black, his sight stopping at the puppeteer with purple markings on his face. The one who defeated him and his three companions.

"_Why would the Sound attack Suna?_" wondered Kankuro as he retreated his dolls. "_I thought Orochimaru concentrated on killing the Leaf survivors for the time being… is he after that blonde brat and the white-eye?_"

---Meanwhile, another part of Suna---

Few sound-nins crushed hard against a wall as a sudden wind blew them away. Shikamaru had an annoyed expression on his face as he glared at Temari, who was standing right next to him: "You know, it's really troublesome trapping those guys in my Kagemane just to make it easier for you to use that wind technique of yours…" he stated a little bored.

"Hey, you're a guest in this village so you could at least help us out a little, consider we're being attacked…" responded the blonde kunoichi with a vein appearing on her forehead. "And stop whining, we need to find Gaara and the others…"

"Out of all the people, he's the one you should be worried about the least…" noticed the lazy ninja. "Especially since he has that sand of his… and he's the Kazekage and all…"

"_Yeah, it may be right…_" the girl thought to herself, staring into space. "_And it's not really Sound that I'm worried about… but that thing Gaara protects… it's a great opportunity for those who attacked him those three months ago to make another try…_"

---That time, somewhere else---

Gaara's sand shoot right at the incoming Tsumeko, forcing the missing-nin to dodge the attack. Being in a thin alley, the former sand-nin jumped up and used chakra to keep on running on the wall, still aiming at the Kazekage's head.

Before Yari could even move, the Juusan member jumped down straight at Gaara with his metal glove out front. The Godaime jumped back, trying to avoid the assault, even though his sand immediately appeared before the missing-nin.

To the kunoichi's surprise however, Tsumeko's claws went right through the redhead's sand. The spear user eyes widen at the sight, yet Gaara didn't seemed to be moved by that at all as he was already performing another attack: "Sabaku Tomurai!"

In an instant spikes made of hard sand began shooting from the ground, creating a trail of spikes that headed straight towards the missing-nin. The Juusan member didn't try to dodge however. He just jumped into the air and spinning parallel to the ground, he used his claws to destroy all the spikes that were aiming to pierce him.

"_He's able to go through Gaara-kun's Sand Shield and destroy his sand…_" concluded the blue-haired girl a bit worried. "_Those claws are the same as my spear! But that means…_" and with that she stared at the missing-nin with her eyes widen.

"Yari-chan…" suddenly Gaara spoke up, gaining the kunoichi's attention. "Please, leave here… I'll take him on by myself…"

"You can't be serious…" stated the girl, acting tuff. "Your sand won't do much against this guy… you saw it yourself, those claws of his are capable of getting through it and thus your defense is way less effective ten usual… fighting him on your own is too dangerous…"

"I beat him once, even though he was using those claws…" announced Gaara as he send the missing-nin a cold glare. "I can do it again… considering this is a thin passage, right now I have to watch out so that my attacks won't hit you… at this point, you'd be getting in my way more then you can help…"

The blue-haired girl just dropped her sight to the ground and after a moment of hesitation she left the two. Tsumeko smiled behind his bandages as Gaara's eyes narrowed and in the next moment the missing-nin jumped up to avoid a huge sand hand that reached out to grab him from bellow.

The Juusan member performed a quick set of hand seals and with the last symbol he called out: "Fuuton: Kaze Tsume no Jutsu!" In an instant a strong wind began blowing and as it hit Gaara, the Kazekage felt his skin got cut.

As the redhead looked at his arm, he noticed a newly formed gash on it. And before he knew it, another cut appeared just bellow it. His eyes widen as he formed a sand barrier around himself, making the wind hit it.

"Come on, you can't tell me that you've already forgotten…" yelled Tsumeko so that his opponent could hear him even within the barrier. "The last time I fought you, I promised that I'll find a way to get through that stupid sand of yours… you didn't expect that my metal claws were the only thing I've counted on when I came here, did ya?"

"And did you expected to defeat me so easily?" asked the Kazekage calmly with a emotionless face, as usual. In the next moment sand began shooting from the walls and from the ground, blocking the missing-nin any way of escape.

"_Dammit, I got careless!_" the former sand-nin cursed in his mind as he looked around. "_All those times I cut his sand into pieces, he still controlled it and made it stuck to walls so that later I wouldn't have a way to run! That's the reason why he send that blue-haired away!_"

"Whether it's back, up or front, my sand will still get you…" stated Gaara coldly. "And even though your claws are capable of getting through my sand, you can't use it to block the entire attack… this fight is over…"

"_Not yet…_" Tsumeko thought to himself as he began another set of hand seals: "Fuuton: Tenkuu Tama no Jutsu!" but the moment he called out the technique's name, he got covered by the redhead's sand.

The Kazekage stayed as he was, looking at the place where the missing-nin got buried, with his eyes slightly narrowed. They widen just a bit in the next moment as he saw his sand being blown away in every direction, with the former sand-nin standing where he did, breathing a little heavily.

"How did you survived?" asked Gaara a bit curious, but still emotionless.

"I managed to surround myself with the sphere of wind currents…" replied Tsumeko without bursting. "When you create wind in many directions, it can change the structure of some things… and sand, which structure isn't very solid, is quite effected by something like that…"

"I see…" nodded the redhead. "Most impressive…"

"Thanks…" responded the missing-nin. "But no matter what you say, I have to kill you… okay, actually, I just want the symbol, but killing you is a bonus…" and with that he charged straight at the Kazekage again.

Gaara instantly put a wall of sand in front of him and performed another technique. As Tsumeko went straight through the wall, using his claws, the redhead finished his jutsu and called out: "Suna Shuriken!"

In a flash a wall of appeared before him and in the next second tens of sand shuriken flew right at the missing-nin. Having no, other way to avoid them, the Juusan member jumped up, but that was just what Gaara wanted him to do.

The Suna leader immediately send his sand towards the missing-nin while he was still in mid-air, making the end of the wave end with a sharp spike. Acting on instinct, Tsumeko began spinning around and deflected the attack with his claws.

Gaara's eyes widen slightly as he saw his sand changing directions and the Juusan member using his spinning move landing on his sand and sliding straight towards him. Without a second thought the redhead changed the shape of the sand Tsumeko used as a rail and spikes formed themselves in the missing-nin's way.

The mummy jumped of the sand trail and somersaulting, landed right behind the Kazekage, just to get blown away with the redhead's sand wave. As he slammed against a stone wall, he saw another wave of sand coming straight at him, only this time he was ready.

Making the air around his metal claws circle, he attacked the wave, cutting it in half and making the sand went from both his sides, but not touching him. In a flash he performed another set of hand seals and with the last symbol he called out: "Fuuton: Tatsumaki Shindou!"

In an instant wind began circling around him, creating a small tornado. Before Gaara knew it, Tsumeko got lifted up by his own wind and was send flying straight at him, still surrounded with the tornado.

Acting on instinct, the redhead send his sand against the incoming enemy, making it mimic his adversary's attack and forming it into a tornado made of sand. The missing-nin however held his metal glove in front, this cutting the Kazekage's attack easily. Gaara had to jump back, to avoid being pierced.

As his claw sunk into the sandy ground, Tsumeko used the hand with his metal glove to bounce off the surface and came at the redhead with a kick aimed at the boy's head. Yet this time the Kazekage's Sand Shield managed to get in his way and stopped him.

A smirk appeared on Tsumeko's face behind bandages as he prepared his claws again, ready to cut through the blockade and finding his target defenseless on the other side. Things didn't go as he planned however.

Just as he thought of his plan. a blade on the end of the spear went straight through Gaara's sand and went for the missing-nin's head. The Juusan member jumped back just in time to avoid certain death. As he came to a sliding stop, he glared at the place the attack came from and as the sand dropped, he saw Yari standing next to Gaara with her spear held out front.

"Yari-chan, what are you doing?" asked the Kazekage. "I asked you to get back…"

"I did…" she replied with determination in her voice. "But I'm not a kid anymore… I've changed… and this time… I won't run away!"

A small smile appeared on Gaara's face as he threw her a quick stare and then, looking back at Tsumeko, he announced with his sand starting to circle again: "Get ready then…"

---Meanwhile---

Hinata and Tamao ran through the streets of Suna towards the Kazekage Tower. Suddenly the Hyuuga heiress stopped, making the former stone-nin slow down as well confused. A second later two figures appeared right before them in the middle of the street.

The white-eyed girl made few steps back as she noticed who the two arrivals where. The first one was a girlie man with long, blonde hair, clipped in a ponytail and blue eyes. He was wearing a black robe with red clouds and a hitae-ate with a slashed, Iwa symbol on the forehead.

Right next to him stood or more like kneeled, another man, dressed just like the blonde one. His hair was black as well as his eyes. He also had his mouth covered behind the black shawl. What drew the attention the most in him however was a scorpion's tail that stuck out of his robe.

"Oh, the Kyuubi isn't here, yeah…" noticed the blonde man with a small smirk.

"Doesn't matter…" stated the scorpion's tail. "We can always catch it later… as well as Shukaku… for the time being lets secure the seven tails…"

Hinata's eyes widen in surprise at hearing that. "_Seven tails? What are they…?_" but at that moment she realized what the two meant and looked behind her only to see Tamao backing away slowly, not taking her eyes of the two figures. She was terrified and shaking.

* * *

And this chapter ends! Hope you like it!

Next time: Naruto takes on Sasuke! Who'll win this time! Will Hinata be able to keep Tamao safe! Gaara and Yari have a showdown with Tsumeko! The conclusion of Naraku versus Hasaki fight! Tune in again!

And before I finish this, it's time for another jutsu encyclopedia. This time around I have some things to write (sorry if some of the descriptions ain't clear enough… I'm not the best when it comes to explain something in English '):

_Suiton: Suijinheki_ (Water Element: Water Barrier Wall) – in order to perform this jutsu the user must first concentrate the right among of chakra in his mouth and then, with the use of right hand seals, release it in the form of water that creates a barrier around him. This technique is usually used to block fire jutsus, but it works on paper just as good, as you read.

_Mizu Kuiki: Fubuki no Jutsu_ (Water Domain: Snowstorm Skill) - technique used by Monodane clan members who mastered Water Domain. Even though it's from the Water Domain, this technique also requires from the user to have some skill at controlling wind. To put it simply, the user first sends his chakra into the water source (in Naraku's case it was an underground water… yet, it's a desert, but it's only logical to built a village where you can get water, since that liquid is hard to find in the desert, so I figured Suna was created on some water source) and then, with the use of right hand seals, lowers its temperature, turning it into snow. The user then sends a little bit of chakra into the air (only enough to create a weak wind), thanks to which he/she is able to send the created snow towards their opponent, blinding him.

_Sabaku Tomurai_ (Desert Funeral) - jutsu invented by Gaara. The user first sends his/hers chakra into the sand and then, with the use of right hand seals, makes the sand came from the ground in the form of a spike, harden by the users chakra.

_Fuuton: Kaze Tsume no Jutsu _(Air Element: Wind Claw Skill) – technique used by Tsumeko. Basically the user first sends his chakra into the air, thus creating a wind current. Then, with the use of right hand seals, sends the wind towards his opponent, with his chakra traveling with it and the moment parts of users chakra hit the target, they cut their skin. This technique may not be the most powerful, but it's useful against a bigger number of enemies.

_Fuuton: Tenkuu Tama no Jutsu _(Air Element: Air Sphere Skill) – technique used by Tsumeko. In this case the user also must release some of his chakra into the air surrounding him and then, using the correct hand seals, make in move in many directions and that way creating a sort of wind barrier, which is very effective in blocking throwing weapons and physical attacks overall.

_Suna Shuriken _(Sand Shuriken) - a jutsu used by Gaara. Practically the user just throws shurikens at his enemy and then, using chakra of course, surrounds them with sand, making them harder.

_Fuuton: Tatsumaki Shindou_ (Air Element: Tornado Impact) - another technique performed by Tsumeko. To put it simply, the user first sends his chakra into the air and then, with the use of the right hand seals, makes the air circle around him, creating a small tornado. Thanks to his own chakra, that is still in the air, the user can choose the route of the tornado and even get taken with it (which is exactly what Tsumeko did).

And that's that for this time. Hope you like it.

Best wishes and until next time, hopefully.


	12. Bonds, Rivarly and Trapped Demons

Yes, I know it took me FOREVER to update and sorry for that, but during the last, two weeks I had many… difficulties (both technical and personal) along with some major, author blocks. Bottom line, I wasn't able to write anything until today.

But I finally manage to finish this chapter and since there weren't any questions in your reviews last time (or I missed them… and if so, sorry), so the only thing left for me to do is get on with it. Hope you'll find this chapter worth waiting for:

**Chapter #12: Bonds, Rivalry and Trapped Demons**

**_Title page:_** Naruto is standing before the mirror, but in stead of his reflection, the one appearing in it is Sasuke

"You've put up a good fight…" stated Naraku calmly with blood dripping from his left cheek as he held his hand under his torso, from with blood was escaping his body through a wide slash going across his chest. "But that was still not enough…" and with that he glared at Hasaki who was laying under a nearby wall with frostbites all over his body, a lot of tiny cuts here and there and a deep wound on his torso.

"That technique…" began the missing-nin, finding it hard to breath. "What the hell… was it?"

The young Monodane didn't reply, He just looked over his shoulder right before Hinako appeared. The green-haired girl looked at the swordsman with her eyes widen slightly and the turned towards her companion: "Naraku-sama, are you…?" she began nervously, but the former leaf-nin only raised his hand in a gesture to make her stop. "_This is the first time I've seen him in such shape… even after his fight with Resshin he seemed better… how in the world did a simple missing-nin managed to push him that far… to use that jutsu… Naraku-sama promised that…_" but then her thoughts got interrupted by the arrival of four, Suna ANBU.

Naraku turned to face them and with a slight bow, he announced: "I'm glad you showed up… please take this guys prisoner…" with that he quickly pointed at Hasaki, who was still laying under the wall. "Be advised however as he is an S-class criminal and you shouldn't take him off your sight. Also, he's from Juusan Akuma and they work in pairs, so there's at least one more guy like him in the village. If you encounter him, use caution. Now, if you'll excuse us, my friend and I will go on a search for his partner…"

The ANBU squad leader only nodded and in an instant his two subordinates grabbed Hasaki and disappeared somewhere. The young Monodane turned towards the kunoichi then and said with a little guilt showing on his face: "I understand why you came back, but I'd prefer for you to stick with Naruto and the others. They may be in trouble. Which way did they headed when you turned around?"

The green-haired girl pointed in the asked direction and a moment later the duo was already heading that way. "_Tamao-chan…_" Naraku thought to himself worried. "_I hope you're okay…_"

---Same time, elsewhere---

Tsumeko jumped back as a powerful blast of sand shoot straight at him. Before his feet even touched the ground, he had to use his metal glove to block Yari's attack, who aimed her spear at his head.

As the both former sand-nins landed on the ground, the Juusan member bended his knees slightly and grabbed the spear's blade with his glove. The blue-haired girl seemed surprised at first, but in an instant a small smirk appeared on her face as she moved the other end of her weapon between Tsumeko's feet, making the hand with which he held the blade twist a bit.

In a fracture of a second the kunoichi moved her spear to her left, making one of the missing-nin's feet separate from the ground and thus resulting in him loosing balance. With his other leg bended slightly, he could maintain his balance and began falling on his back.

But before his fall was completed, he used his hand with the metal glove to prop himself against the ground, thus breaking the fall. In an instant he began spinning on that hand and aimed a kick in Yari's face.

His foot never reached its target however as a wall of sand rose right before the kunoichi, stopping the attack. In a next second Tsumeko found himself surrounded with sand walls, which started to get closer.

The missing-nin landed back on his feet and still spinning, he used his claws to cut the sand in half. As the sand dropped back to the ground, he looked at Gaara with a smirk appearing behind his bandages: "Did you really expected me to jump into the air to avoid being squished? I'm not an idiot… though I wonder what surprise you prepared for me once I'd go into the air…"

"Actually…" began the redhead calmly, looking back at the Juusan member. "What makes you so sure I didn't predict that you won't fall for that and prepared counter measures?"

As he said so, Tsumeko's eyes widen a bit as he noticed his feet buried slightly in the sand. In the next moment he spotted Yari charging right at him, with her spear ready. As he made an attempt to get free, the sand tightened its grip around his feet, keeping him in place.

Having no, other alternative, the missing-nin began cutting the sand around his feet with his claws and as the blue-haired girl came closer, he just grabbed the stick right behind the blade of her weapon with his other hand and pulled it to the ground.

In an instant he spun on his feet, aiming his claws at the kunoichi's head now. However Yari just dug her spear deeper into the ground and bounced of the surface, still holding to her weapon tight.

As Tsumeko's claws went right bellow her body, which was now located parallel to the ground, she spun on her spear and delivered a kick into the missing-nin's face. As the Juusan member flew back, another sand wall rose behind him and 'swallowed' the former sand-nin.

"Is it… over?" asked Yari as she kept observing the place where the Juusan member disappeared just a second ago. The Kazekage only shook his head slightly right before the sand blasted into the sky, revealing the missing-nin standing back up, breathing heavily.

Just by looking at him, the kunoichi could tell that he has changed: his calmness disappeared completely. Now he was more holding back his anger, so that rage wouldn't take over. From behind the bandages blood was escaping his body and it seemed like he had to make a big effort to keep standing. His eyes were set on Gaara and him only. He seemed to completely forget that she was there as well.

"Well, this is disappointing to see you in such state, Tsumeko…" the trio heard a voice and as they turned towards the rooftops from where it came from, they saw a two more, missing-nins. The one who have spoken was a man wearing a violet cloak with a headband with the mountain symbol. "I thought you were sure you'll be able to get the Dog symbol…"

"Shut up, Henkou…" the former sand-nin shoot back. "The fight isn't over yet…"

"Sadly, it is…" corrected the one called Henkou calmly. As Tsumeko turned around to look at him, his companion, a man with spiky, brown hair, wearing green and brown, with a hitae-ate with the Grass symbol spoke up: "Akatsuki are in the village…"

"So?" responded the former sand-nin, mad that he couldn't finish the fight. "I can just kill them if they'll get in my way… get lost!"

"You just don't get it…" announced Henkou. "We're not asking you to go with us… we're ordering you… it's Resshin-sama's instructions… we can't afford to waste anymore time, especially since we have to pick up Hasaki as well…"

The bandaged ninja hesitated for a moment and then dropped his guard. "So, are we leaving the Dog symbol behind just like that? This is the perfect situation to get it…"

"Are you questioning Resshin-sama's direct instructions?" asked the former grass-nin, narrowing his eyes. "Don't get too sure of yourself, Tsumeko… you're useful… but not irreplaceable… now move it…"

"Yeah, yeah…" replied the former sand-nin as he jumped into the air and in the next moment he appeared right next to the other missing-nins. "Sorry for cutting this short, Gaara-san…" he apologized while looking at the redhead. "I guess we'll do this another day…" and with this the three of them vanished.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" asked Yari confused about what just happened.

"It'd be pointless…" replied Gaara calmly as he walked over to her. "It's likely for us to defeat three of them at once… besides, the village is being under attack and pushing back the attackers is my top priority now as the Kazekage… care to join me?" he asked after a short pause.

The blue-haired girl only smiled and followed the redhead towards the nearest place the battle noises were coming from.

---That time, elsewhere---

Sasuke blocked Naruto's punch with his left hand and instantly spun on his foot, aiming a kick into the blonde's stomach. The whisker-marks however saw right through it and also blocked the raven-haired boy's attack with his left hand.

With Sasuke having his back turned towards the Kyuubi vessel, the blonde decided to use the situation and aimed his claws to pierce right through the missing-nin's chest. Surprisingly for him however, the Sharingan user just jumped up and somersaulted in mid-air, making the two boy's eyes meet for a split second.

The sound-nin smiled noticing rage in the blonde's eyes and the moment he landed on the ground behind Naruto, it was now him who was facing his opponent's back. He instantly began forming hand seals with an attempt to burn his former teammate to a crisp, just to see a chakra hand with claws shoot out of the whisker-mark's back and hitting him hard in the stomach. With the chakra palm still pushing him, Sasuke hit the wall behind him and was forced against it by the red, chakra hand. Yet the smile didn't disappear from his face.

"What now, are you gonna kill me, dope?" he asked teasingly.

"I already told you…" replied the blonde with a cold face as he turned around to face his former teammate. "The only thing I want from you now, is your head…" and with that another chakra hand with claws shoot out from his body, aiming the claws at the missing-nin's head.

"No choice then…" stated the sound-nin still smiling. "I'll have to get serious…" and with that he hit the wall with his head, making it crack (_A/N: a note for those of you who are surprised Sasuke managed to do something like this: he simply filled his head with chakra, which may sound weird, but that made it more resistant to damage and gave it more destructive power_). In the next moment the stone wall went into pieces and having his back freed, Sasuke jumped back, avoiding the incoming attack. In a blink of an eye, the raven-haired boy just vanished.

In the next moment Naruto jumped back right before the missing-nin shoot from bellow the ground in the place he stood with a kunai in his hand. Immediately the blonde threw several shuriken at the Sharingan user, yet the Oto shinobi simply deflected them all with the knife he held in his hand.

Sasuke landed on the ground with a wide smile on his face, yet his eyes widen as he noticed an explosive tag right bellow him, covered in sand a little, The sound-nin jumped back right before the explosion, avoiding serious damage.

Before his feet even touched the ground, the missing-nin performed a quick set of hand seals and bending back so that he could see what was behind him, he called out: "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" with releasing an incredible among of fire from his mouth.

Naruto, who appeared right in the place Sasuke's attack was aimed, immediately used his hands to bounce off the ground and just barely managed to dodge the assault. "_He's capable to catch up to my speed even when I'm using Kyuubi…_" concluded the blonde with the angry expression still showing on his face. "_Such cheap tricks won't do then…_" and in an instant he performed his standard technique: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Before he knew it, Sasuke got surrounded with tens of Naruto. The missing-nin looked around him, but the smirk still haven't disappear from his face. The instant the blonde's clones charged right at him, he bended to his back a little and grabbed the closest bushin's shirt.

In a fracture of a second Sasuke jumped up, hitting another, charging clone with his feet, which just left the ground, and still holding the other bushin by the shirt, he somersaulted and the instant he landed on the ground, he tossed the one he grabbed against the other, two incoming clones, making all three disappear in the cloud of white smoke.

As more clones charged at him, Sasuke bended to his right a bit and lunching a kick with his left leg at the incoming bushin, he used his right hand to punch the other blonde that charged at him from the opposite direction.

Noticing that all, other bushins were coming at him from every direction, he bended to his right even more and placing both hands on the ground, he performed a Belgian Helicopter, hitting clones that weren't able to stop in time and making them get dispelled.

While his hands were still pressed against the sand, the missing-nin used his palms to bounce off the ground and spinning flew into the air. Landing outside the circle that Naruto clones created around him, he smiled even wider as the explosive tag he left behind exploded, making even more bushins disappear in the cloud of white smoke.

Immediately Sasuke performed another set of hand seals and when Naruto's bushins were about to attack the missing-nin, he simply called out: "Katon: Karyuudan no Jutsu!" and in an instant a powerful dragon made of flames escaped from his mouth, piercing right through the blonde clones, lifting up an entire fog a white smoke.

As the air became clear, a smirk on Sasuke's face widen once more as he saw a red ball of chakra forming itself in Naruto's hand. With his smile staying on his face, the sound-nin asked the blonde: "So this is it? Are you that willing to forget about the promise you made to Sakura?"

The whisker-marks didn't reply. His eyes only narrowed and his hair become redder, which were the only signs that he listened to what the Sharingan user said. He let out a short growl as he took one step towards the missing-nin and then another.

Naruto charged forward as a ball of red chakra circled in his right palm. With a wild roar he held that hand out front, aiming the red orb at the missing-nin. Sasuke however didn't seemed to be moved by this at all and just calmly announced: "This reminds me of something…"

In the next moment electricity wrapped itself around his right hand and the Oto shinobi moved it closer to the building wall, making the stone go into pieces as the electric current drew nearer to them. In an instant the sound-nin charged at the blonde, also holding out his hand that was now surrounded with the current out front.

As the two teens came closer and closer to one another, both carrying their strong and misunderstood emotions, their vision changed. Everything each of them saw at that moment was his opponent and his heart that he wished to pierce.

And with the terrifying chakra gathered in their hands, filled with hatred, rage and sorrow, the air got cut for this short moment, carrying two calls to the furthest corners of the Hidden Sand Village:

"RASENGAN!"

"CHIDORI!"

And then silence felt, almost like nothing happened. Even the noise of the battle all around quiet down for that short second. Who won? And for what price? Even though no-one seen this battle, even though no-one was aware of it, they all seemed to wished to know theses answers.

And in the next moment the noises were heard around the whole village yet again. The battle has not ended, everyone was still fighting. Everyone, except the two warriors, who were once best friends. Their battle has ended.

---Meanwhile, elsewhere---

Deidara jumped back, thus avoiding an opened palm aimed at his chest. The blonde Akatsuki immediately reached for his clay and after placing some of it in the mouth that was located on his hand, he performed a quick set of hand seals, calling out: "Ninpou: Nendo Katana no Jutsu!"

In an instant a sword appear in his hand, which he swung straight at the white-eyed girl, but Hinata just jumped away, avoiding the attack, but the moment her feet touched the ground, he noticed a scorpion's tail coming right at her from behind.

The Hyuuga heiress immediately bended over and, after placing her hands on the ground, she used them to bounce off the surface, making Sasori's tail sunk into the sand. Without wasting a second, the Leaf kunoichi landed on the missing-nin's tail and charged right at him with her palm ready.

Having no, other option, the former sand-nin made his tail separate and jumped back. Hinata came to a stop in a fighting stance as she saw the tail "regenerating" itself by extending itself from bellow Sasori's robe and transforming the ending into the "sting".

"_Fighting them both makes it hard…_" the white-eyed girl concluded as she kept observing Deidara with her Byakugan. "_One I could've taken down, but with two opponents, the moment I force one to create an opening, the other springs into action… I need to do something to separate them…_"

"This is a troublesome one, yeah…" announced the blonde Akatsuki with an evil smile. "At such paste we won't be able to obtain Shichibi… Sasori-dono, I'll handle her myself and you just take the seven tails, yeah…"

"Don't you think too highly of yourself, Deidara?" asked the former sand-nin in a cold voice. "That hag's good and if I were to grab the Shichibi, I won't be coming back for you…" but the moment he said so the two jumped up.

Hinata was about to do the same, but at that moment she felt someone grabbing her and taking her onto a nearby roof. The moment the Hyuuga heiress body left the ground, stone spikes shoot from bellow the surface in the entire area.

As she stood back onto her feet, her eyes widen at noticing who saved her: "N-neji-niisan?"

"Hinata-sama, it's been a while…" replied the Hyuuga genius with a wide smile. "I must say that you and Naruto are hard to catch up to… but I believe we can talk later… I see two Akatsuki members near, but what exactly were those stone spikes just now?"

"This is not good…" stated Kasumi, who stood at the edge of the roof and stared at the street bellow. Uncontrollably her body began shaking as she looked back at the two, white-eyed teens: "No matter who stupid this may sound, the Akatsuki are the least of our worries right now…" and with that she got back to observing the street. "Because it seems that IT has awaken again…"

A little confused Neji used his Byakugan and followed her sight to Tamao, who kneeled in the middle of the street bellow, holding her head in her hands, with tears dropping from her face. The former stone-nin shook her head in negation with her body shaking, but in a different way then Kasumi's.

"No…" the blonde girl begged quietly. "No, not that… please, anything but this again!"

---To be continued---

And this is it for this time. Hope you liked it and that the next chapter will be done quicker.

Before I wrap this up, here's another jutsu encyclopedia:

_Ninpou: Nendo Katana no Jutsu_ (Ninja Art: Clay Katana Skill) – a technique used by Deidara. The user must first prepare a special clay and then, with the use of the right hand seals, form it into a sword.

_Katon: Karyuudan no Jutsu_ (Fire Element: Fire Dragon Blast Skill) - a technique similar to the Hidden Mist's Water Dragon Blast (Zabuza used it in his first fight with Kakashi). The user first gathers chakra in his lungs and then, with the help of the right seals, releases it from his mouth in the form of a flame that looks like a dragon. This is probably one of the most powerful, fire-based attacks.

And that's that for this time. Hope you enjoyed reading this.

Best wishes and until next time, hopefully.


	13. Ways of Understanding

Well, I've managed to sit down to it a bit today (even though it didn't seem I'll manage to) and finished this chapter just few minutes ago. The fight between Sasuke and Naruto is resolved (just as a note, there's a reason why the result is what it is) and Tamao's case is presented a bit wider.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. I'm glad you (well, most of you) liked it and hope that this one won't disappoint you either. I didn't find any questions in the reviews, so I can go to the story. But one thing before that:

**PLEASE READ THIS:** I'd like to ask all of you who likes to draw and are interested in helping me with a certain idea. I'm not good at drawing, so it's hard for me to estimate if the 'job' is hard or not, but I don't think it's THAT difficult. All of you, who I got interested, please let me know (by review, PM or via e-mail) and I'll give you the details. Thanks in advance.

**Chapter #13: Ways of Understanding**

**_Title Page:_** Naraku and Sasuke are standing back to back with the hitae-ate with the slashed Leaf symbol on it between them

Sasuke stood above the fallen Naruto with an evil smile on his face. He looked down at the blonde, who was hardly breathing as he was holding his left shoulder, now completely covered with his own blood. The sound-nin's Chidori cut right through it.

The former leaf-nin was smiling, but he didn't move an inch. As he observed the whisker-marks, who was once his teammate, he suddenly felt something collection in his mouth and then, without any warning, he cough out blood, which dripped from his mouth even after he shut his lips.

"Was that really all the famous Rasengan could do?" asked the Uchiha prodigy as he looked as his torso, shallowly cut in several places and covered with his blood. "Or did you held back in the end, just like last time?"

"What difference does it make?" the blonde shoot back, still holding his arm, unable to get up. "Besides, being such a genius, I thought it shouldn't be hard for you to figure out the truth…" and as he mentioned that, Sasuke's eyes widen for a split second, before he regain his typical posture. "So tell me…" the Kyuubi vessel continued, acting like he didn't noticed the sound-nin's reaction just then. "Did you really achieved what you wanted?"

The raven-haired boy didn't reply at first. His eyes only narrowed as he reached for a kunai. "Not yet…" he finally responded in a cold voice. "But I will in a second…" and so he aimed at the blonde's head. And then he raised his knife, only to throw it at the whisker-marks the next moment.

Naruto didn't close his eyes. As he saw the blade of the kunai coming right at his head, he just stayed motionless… and witness the knife sinking into the wall just two inches away from his head.

"What was the use of that 'I want your head' talk, Dead Last!" demanded the former leaf-nin with fury showing on his face. It was rare for Sasuke to display his emotions so obviously, so if someone he knew would see him at that moment, he'd most likely be very surprised. The Kyuubi vessel however seemed unmoved by that… unmoved at all.

"I don't suppose you realize your situation! I can kill you anytime I want!" yelled the Sharingan user loudly, holding back his anger. However the blonde only kept looking at him as he replied: "Then why don't you?"

"You really don't get, do you Naruto?" stated Sasuke with an evil smile, regaining his cold posture. "I'm not going back to the Leaf… not now, not ever… especially since there's no Leaf anymore… thanks to me…"

Just then ground started shaking and for a short moment it seemed like there will be an earthquake. Surprisingly however, everything calmed down the next second and the sound-nin looked around a little confused. It was then that he noticed something. "_Well, what do you know…_" he thought to himself as his smile widen.

He then reached for another kunai and preparing to fire it, he asked out loud: "Before I'll finish this, there's one thing I want to ask you, Naruto… during all those years… have you at least once considered why I didn't finish you back at the Valley of the End?"

"I didn't need to…" the blonde replied calmly. "I knew…" but at this the former leaf-nin's eyes narrowed and as he threw his kunai at the Kyuubi vessel, he let out a yell: "You know absolutely nothing!"

His knife however didn't reach it's target as all of a sudden it got deflected by a strange, metal ring, which spinning acted like a boomerang and once knocking out the kunai, it began heading back in the direction it came from.

"So I suppose you're that famous Uchiha Sasuke…" the two suddenly heard a voice and as they looked up in the direction it came from, they saw Naraku and Hinako standing on a nearby rooftop, with the kunoichi grabbing the ring that just returned. In an instant the young Monodane jumped down, landing just few meters away from the Sharingan user.

"And you are…?" began the sound-nin, raising an eyebrow.

"Monodane Naraku…" replied the former leaf-nin. "And this is Banrai Hinako…" and with that he pointed at the green-haired girl. "And you might wanna leave my friend alone… if you're looking for a fight though, I'm willing to give you one…"

"You think you could win?" asked Sasuke with a smirk.

"You think I could not?" the brown-haired boy shoot back calmly. The two stood there for a longer while, before the sound-nin finally smirked even wider and then said in a little annoyed voice: "You Monodane can sure be a pain… naturally, you believe you could win just because my Sharingan is not capable of coping your techniques… I'll prove your wrong… another day…"

Naraku didn't reply. He just stood there in the same position he was standing from the start. Sasuke laughed shortly and then continued: "Don't get the wrong idea however… I assure you that in a one on one fight… I'd have defeated you…" and with that he turned towards Naruto: "Until next time, Dead Last…" and so he was gone.

The moment the Uchiha prodigy disappeared, the young Monodane let out a sigh of relief. As he looked at the whisker-marks, who was slowly getting back to his feet with the help from Hinako, he only smiled for a split second: "_You really are special, Naruto…_"

"Boy, you're pathetic…" whined the green-haired girl as the blonde now tried standing with her help and even though his legs were shaking, he managed to hold his balance. "You just lost… again…"

"What are you talking about, Hinako?" asked Naraku a little surprised and as the kunoichi looked at him confused, he announced: "The fight just now… Naruto won it…" and as the former cloud-nin's eyes widen, the whisker-marks only threw a quick glare at the young Monodane.

He didn't say a thing, but he didn't had to. It was clear to him that Naraku understood what happened here all too well. The Kyuubi vessel wasn't sure why that was so, but at that point he knew one thing: the Monodane prodigy understood him in some way… probably even more he wished to show.

"I'd congratulate you, Naruto, but I'm afraid we don't have time for that…" announced Naraku, walking a little closer to the blonde. "You felt the ground shaking just then? I know what caused it… in case you haven't noticed it by now, let me tell you that Tamao is the same as you… she's a Jinchuuriki. And this heavy atmosphere means that the beast that's locked inside her… is about to run loose… I'm not sure if you are aware of what that means, but I'll tell you this: if it won't be stopped in time, this entire village will be wiped out from the maps, just like Konoha was…"

Naruto immediately ran towards the place where Tamao was, without paying any attention to the pain that shoot from his wound. Naraku on the other hand hesitated and narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the ground.

And then, suddenly, Hinako was there. She embraced the former leaf-nin and as the young Monodane looked back at her, she gave him a warm smile. But the boy didn't even managed a forced smile. In stead he lowered his head and returned to observing the ground.

"You know, when I took her in, I promised that something like this will never happen again…" Naraku began, still not raising his head. "I guaranteed that she won't have to fear that ever again… guess that in the end it was just another promise I couldn't keep…"

"Naraku-sama…" the green-head only manage to whisper as she lowered her head as well. The former leaf-nin let out a sigh and then continued: "Whenever that thing gets lose, she feels it… the terror… the pain… the darkness… when I first saw it, I could tell it's been ripping her apart… she's not like Naruto or Gaara… that thing that's inside her… it won't help her, not even once… and at some point, she won't be able to withstand it…"

Hinako only opened her mouth slightly, yet she didn't find the strength to say anything at first. As she took a deep breath, she placed her hand on the young Monodane's shoulder, thus gaining his attention, and then speak up: "That's why she has you, Naraku-sama… even though it's a little painful for me to admit that…"

The brown-haired boy just stared at her, without saying a word as the green-haired girl continued: "Sometimes I'm wondering if things would be different if you'd meet me first… if I came in before Tamao did… I'm probably the worst hag in the world… saying this right now… but one cannot do a thing about his feelings… out of everyone I know, you probably know this the best, Naraku-sama…"

The boy still stood there, without saying a word as a single drop of tear slowly began running down the girl's cheek. She pulled herself together quickly however and went on as nothing happened: "They say it's simple… that there's not much to it… but in reality, they're probably just wish to deny the facts… it's not simple at all… this is the most complicated thing that every existed, because there aren't any rules or laws when it comes down to it… and once you get in you can never truly get out… and it's painful… but at the same time, it's also something that gives so much happiness… I basically talk about it all the time, but I'm not sure if I can say that I really know much about it…" and with that she looked away, lowering her head.

It was then that Naraku came closer to her and gentle made her look at him: "You do know a lot about it… more then you let yourself to notice… or rather more then you let yourself to accept…"

"As usual you're right, Naraku-sama…" replied the green-haired girl with a weak smile. "Because accepting that would make me realize that I'm fighting a losing battle…" and with that she hugged him once more, only this time she didn't want to let go. "I know that this will sound bad, but I'd really wish to not say what's need to be said…"

"I know…" announced the former leaf-nin, placing his hand on top of her head as she let go and took few steps back. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry… you don't need to say it… but I must go… please, watch yourself out…" and so he turned away, preparing to run right after Naruto.

Before he managed to take a single step however, Hinako spoken again: "There's nothing you have to feel sorry about, Naraku-sama… but this time you're wrong… I need to say it…" and with that her voice froze for a moment in her throat, before she managed to continue: "Please, bring her back…"

The young Monodane only nodded and then took off, leaving the green-haired girl alone. "_Being a nice girl…_" she thought to herself, both disappointed and relieved. "_Sucks…_"

---That time, somewhere in Suna---

"Sasori-dono, mind telling me why we're retreating, yeah?" asked Deidara as she and her partner jumped from on roof onto another, leaving behind the place they fought with the young Hyuuga heiress. "The seven-tails was just there, why leaving it behind?"

"Deidara, you can be really mindless…" replied the former sand-nin calmly without even looking at his companion. "You don't get the situation at all… Kaku isn't really a big treat, considering how powerful the other demons were, but there's one, tiny little detail that you should take under consideration, while dealing with this one…"

"And that is?" demanded the blonde a little annoyed.

"Some Jinchuuriki have the power to become the beasts they carry inside…" responded the puppeteer, keeping his calm. "Basically those are the most dangerous, but there's one catch to it: it's rumored that the seven-tails is a little different in that matter…"

"How's so?" forced the former stone-nin impatiently. But his partner didn't reply.

---Same time, elsewhere---

Hinata jumped back, thus avoiding several, stone spikes that shoot from the ground in the attempt to stab right through her. In an instant she returned to her fighting style, but she couldn't make herself fight back. After all, the one causing all this was the girl she considered as friend. Someone with who she had a lot in common.

Kasumi tossed several kunai straight at the former stone-nin, but they were all blown away by orange chakra that surrounded Tamao. The weapon mistress clenched her teeth as he eyes narrowed. She immediately jumped onto a nearby roof, just barely escaping a giant, stone hand that reached out to grab her from below.

"Kasumi-san, why did you threw those kunai?" asked Hinata a little confused. "Do you want to hurt Tamao-san?" but the former mist-nin replied simply without even looking at the Hyuuga heiress: "Sorry to say this, but you don't get the situation, Hinata… Naraku told me about the way Kaku was sealed inside Tamao… if we won't stop her, she'll destroy the whole village… and at the same time, nothing we do can really do her any harm…"

"Why?" asked Neji, who just joined them after a series of air evolutions, that helped him avoid all the stone spikes that shoot at him. And so Kasumi said what she knew: "I don't really know how this was done, however I can say this: the way the seven-tails got sealed inside her was flawless… once the beast starts to free itself, only someone with another beast inside would be capable to hold it back…"

"Meaning we can't do a thing without the help of another Jinchuuriki?" concluded the Hyuuga genius calmly, but in reality he was never as nervous as now. The fact that he couldn't do a single thing, in some twisted way, scared him. And as the former mist-nin nodded, Hinata drew their attention to her, by saying:

"But you said it happened before… so how was Tamao-san stopped that time?" and at hearing that Kasumi smiled slightly under her nose as she looked at the white-eyed girl: "_I guess that it…_" and then she spoke up: "The circumstances were a bit different… in the early stadium, the beast can be pushed by anyone… however it seems like now it gotten too much influence on Tamao's body… at the moment the chakra that surrounds her will basically protect her from any attack that won't have a demon part in it… and besides, even if that wasn't so, sealing the beast back isn't that easy…"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Neji a little confused. The former mist-nin only lowered her head, before she replied: "There is a prize for pushing Kaku back… the seal can only be done with using one's own blood… and once it sprays the Jinchuuriki's forehead… the one doing the sealing dies… plus the only one who knows the seal is Naraku…"

Neji looked with his eyes widen at the kunoichi. Even though he didn't know this 'Naraku', he certainly felt sorry for him at that single moment. Further more, what insurance did they had that he'll even make it in time? Things certainly didn't look good.

It was then that Hinata jumped down from the roof and charged straight at Tamao. "No! Stay away, please!" yelled the former stone-nin with a breaking voice as tears run down her cheeks. "He'll kill you!"

But the Hyuuga heiress didn't listen. Her peril eyes narrowed as stone spikes shoot at her from underground yet again. The moment another spike shoot next to her, she jumped into the air, spotting the attack thanks to her Byakugan, and bounced off the very spike, thus flying higher and going above another spike that tried to stab through her.

As the Hyuuga heiress landed on another stone spike and skid down it, a powerful wave of earth came her way. The Leaf kunoichi however only gathered chakra in her right palm and lunched that hand forward, releasing the chakra into the air, cutting the wave in two with it: "Hakke Kuushou!"

As the earth felt down, Hinata charged right through it with her palm aimed at Tamao's chest. The moment she lunched the attack however, a powerful stone wall rose before her, making her palm his the barrier. The wall cracked and soon fell into pieces, but it was at that time that a small, stone hand shoot right at the white-eyed girl and as it hit her, the Leaf kunoichi was send flying against a nearby wall.

"What the hell is she doing?" yelled Kasumi from above. "I told her there's nothing either of us can really do here, so why in the world did she…?" and with that she looked at Neji, awaiting answer, but she never received it. The Hyuuga genius only narrowed his eyes as he looked at his cousin. He knew perfectly why she did what she did. And he respected that, even if it was pointless.

As Hinata felt to the ground, a trail of stone spikes lunched at her once again. In an instant Neji jumped down in an attempt to save his cousin, but at the same time he heard a very familiar voice yelling: "Doton: Ishi Tomurai no Jutsu!" and in a fraction of a second another trail of stone spikes appeared, this time heading towards the one created by Kaku.

As the two attacks collide, they canceled each other out and the moment Neji landed next to the Hyuuga heiress, there was no danger anymore. At the white-eyed boy looked in the direction the second earth-based attack came from, he saw a certain, blonde boy walking their way.

"Good to see you… Naruto…" he announced with a smile as he helped Hinata get back to her feet. But in the next moment another boy appeared next to the first, this time with brown hair and a hitae-ate with the slashed, Leaf symbol on it.

"Naraku-san…" Kasumi immediately recognized the other boy as she jumped down to the two Hyuugas. "I'm terribly sorry…" she added with a slight, apologizing bow. "I failed… I came here too late and now Tamao…" but at this point the former leaf-nin stopped her:

"You did what you could, no need to be sorry. Besides, what's done is done…" and it was then that he seemed to notice Neji. "You're a Hyuuga too… I wish we could be properly introduced, but now's not the time… considering that you're from the Hyuuga clan, I have a favor to ask you: please that both Hinata and Kasumi out of here… as bad as it may sound, none of you can really help us here… once you'll reach safe distance, please find Gaara-san and ask him to come here as soon as it'll be possible…"

"But Naraku-san…" began the Hyuuga heiress, wanting to disagree, but the former leaf-nin didn't allow her to finish: "Hinata, I saw what you did…" he whispered to her, while walking closer: "And I'm truly thankful to you for it… I wish you and Naruto all the best… but just as you did what you did coz you had to, this is something I must do as well…"

"But Kasumi-san said…" the white-eyed girl still couldn't accept what was about to happen, but it seemed that the young Monodane has made up his mind as: "This is the only way… as my last request, once all of this is over, please tell Tamao-chan…" and with that his words froze in his throat for a moment, before he managed to continue: "Please tell her that I'm sorry…" and with that his sight stopped at the female Jinchuuriki, who was still on her knees, shaking, absolutely unable to do anything else but crying.

Kasumi almost forced the tow Hyuugas to leave with her and once they were gone, the former leaf-nin decided that it was high time to start what they came to do:

"Naruto, know this…" began Naraku calmly as he reached for a scroll. "From the looks of it Tamao's body is already reaching its limit… that means that typical attacks won't go throw that chakra field surrounding her… at this point, only another Jinchuuriki can break through, by using his own demon's power… Gaara-san's presence would surely be helpful, especially considering that you're wounded, but I have no idea where he is, so it'll all rest on you and for that I apologize. I know how to stop the demon from getting free, but in order to do so I both require a little time and a clear way to Tamao… and with my injuries, doing so alone might prove impossible… but be aware of the fact that Tamao has absolutely no control right now and since that's the case, we're facing the demon's power itself…"

At this point Naruto walked forward, standing between the former leaf-nin and the kunoichi. "I got it…" he replied simply with determination appearing in his eyes, which slowly began to turn red. "So… what do you need me to do?"

_**---to be continued---**_

And so this chapter ends. Next chapter it's Naruto vs. Tamao! Kyuubi vs. Kaku! Demon vs. demon! Who'll win in that confrontation? And with the seal that'll cost him his life, what awaits Naraku? Find out next time!

To make it quick, here's the jutsu encyclopedia for this time and after that a profile of the OC I completely forgot to make before (and she's the last one of 'Naraku corps'). So, here goes:

_Doton: Ishi Tomurai no Jutsu_ (Earth Element: Stone Funeral Skill) – in order for this technique to work, the user must first release his chakra into the ground. The same chakra pushes up the stone from underground up in the form of spikes. Perform correctly, this jutsu can be extremely devastating (it was used in some of my other fics as well).

_Name:_ Nakago Kasumi

_Name origins:_ her first name, Kasumi, means simply 'mist', so I don't think there's any need for me to explain that… as for her last name, Nakago can be translated as 'blade'… and she's a weapon mistress

_Age:_ 19 years old

_Birth Date:_ 13th of March

_Blood Type:_ AB

_Height:_ 153,4 cm

_Weight:_ 47,1 kg

_Rank:_ she left her village right after becoming chuunin

_Village:_ Kiri Gakure (Hidden Mist)

_Techniques (used so far):_ Hijutsu: Aka Yaiba (Secret Skill: Bloody Blades)

_Favorite food:_ none

_Favorite color:_ black

_Family:_ those who hang around her most likely heard about the fact that she has or at least had a twin sister, however Kasumi herself isn't to quick to talk about it and thus not much is known besides that

And that's all for now. Thanks for reading and do leave your opinion once you're done.

Best wishes and until next time, hopefully.


	14. Things That Are, Things That Were

Yup, it's me again! Many of you wanted me to update ASAP, so I sat down to it and somehow managed to write this chapter quicker then I usually do (even though college is really horrible right now).

With this chapter the battle in Suna basically ends. All the questions you asked last time will be answered in it (well, kinda), so all you have to do is read it to find out the answers. Naturally, thanks to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter.

Now, before I'll end this, there's one, final announcement I'd like to make: someone was actually brave enough to offer me beta-reading this fic! His penname is Falkyn and thanks to him you won't have to suffer my terrible, English grammar. Naturally, this situation has another plus: if there'll still be mistakes, I always have someone to blame for that :D But seriously, I hope that with Falkyn's help you'll find this story more enjoyable.

_Falkyn speaking now:_ Hello people! It's me, the new beta-reader. Woot. I just want to say that I'm still in high school, so any English Majors who notice grammar mistakes I make, (however small they may be,) cut me some slack, please. I did edit this at four in the morning, and I have had no sleep. I'll do my best, so don't yell at me please. I hope you enjoy the story. By the way, I didn't bother to correct minor mistakes like a period as opposed to a comma at the end of a character's paragraph. Just so you know. It would take much more time than I have on my hands right now. Okay, on to beta reading for me. On to reading for you.

**Chapter #14: Things That Are, Things That Were**

**_Title Page:_** Tamao is looking up with a badger sitting on the top of her head

"So… what do you need me to do?" asked Naruto, with determination in his eyes, which slowly began to turn red. Naraku only smiled slightly before replying: "Keep her busy and weaken her a bit. But please, do what you can to not harm her."

"That last part might be a problem!" yelled the blonde as they both jumped away while stone spikes shot from below. The former leaf-nin landed on the wall and sticking to it with his chakra, he bit his finger and began writing on the scroll he picked out.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Naruto performed his standard technique: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and in a flash hundreds of the blonde clones surrounded the former stone-nin, who was still kneeling and embracing herself with her arms. She looked up, with tears still running down her cheeks. She was different from the last time the whisker-marks saw her: her skin was now completely pale and she seemed way skinnier then before. Her entire body was trembling and in several places veins began to appear.

With a short moment of hesitation, the Kyuubi vessel's clones charged straight at the girl from all directions, but most of them were stopped as a ring of stone spikes shoot from around her, impaling ten of them. The other bushins however managed to jump into the air, right above the spikes, and came down with their fists ready straight at the former stone-nin.

But to the blonde's surprise, the stone spikes that were surrounding her suddenly began bending back and in a flash formed a stone dome above the Kaku vessel, making all Naruto's clones land on it. All it took was a second for small spikes to shoot from outside the dome, each cutting through a clone and making them all disappear in the cloud of white smoke. As the smoke cleared, the whisker-marks noticed that the dome was no longer protecting the girl, however not a single bushin of his survived.

And in the next second a huge, stone hand shoot straight at him. Acting on instinct, Naruto jumped off the wall and into the air, but unfortunately that's precisely what Kaku wanted as another stone hand appeared from the first one and grabbed the blonde while he was still in mid-air. Once the whisker-marks was trapped, the hand began to clench, crushing him inside.

"No!" Tamao yelled from the bottom of her lungs. Whether her will to save her friend had made the hand slow down for a split second or not was one thing that no one will every know, but there's no doubt that for that short amount of time the crushing stopped and that was enough for the blonde to gather chakra in his palm in the form of a blue orb and break his way out of the trap in time.

As his feet touched the ground, Naruto charged at the Kaku vessel, performing another Kage Bushin in the process, this time creating four clones. While the original stayed behind and began a new set of hand seals, the replicas moved forward, picking out their kunai.

But surprisingly for everyone, stone ropes shoot from below ground and circling around the four clones as they were charging at Tamao, each from a different direction, trapping them all. Then the girl's eyes set on the original, but they weren't her eyes anymore. They were black with red fire circling in the middle of them.

As Kaku's sight caught Naruto, another trail of stone spikes came his way at an incredible speed. As it was merely inches before it's target, all four, trapped clones suddenly exploded because of the explosive tags hidden behind their shirts, destroying the 'ropes' that were binding them, spraying small rocks all around. As several, tiny stone hit the girl on the face softly, the trail of stone spikes slowed down, giving the blonde enough time to finish his technique: "Fuuton: Tatsumaki Hakka no Jutsu!" and in a flash a small tornado blasted below his feet, making the whisker-marks fly high into the air.

As he flew through the air, red chakra surrounded him, forming claws around his fingers and a single tail growing behind him. His eyes now turned completely red, his teeth became fangs and his whisker-marks were more visible. He landed on the other side of the girl and charged at her again, at an incredible speed.

In a flash a clawed hand made of the orange chakra surrounding Tamao grew out in an attempt to pierce through the blonde, but the Kyuubi vessel managed to somersault to his right in time, thus avoiding the assault. He was merely inches away from the kunoichi when another hand shot out, this time hitting him in the stomach, but luckily for him, he received a hit from an opened palm.

As the blonde was sent flying back, the chakra surrounding the kunoichi began to form again, creating hands with claws and growing five tails on the rear. While the whisker-marks slammed into the wall, Naraku only cursed in his mind: "_Five tails already? If I don't hurry there'll be no stopping it!_"

Meanwhile Kaku shot one of its chakra hands towards Naruto. Unable to dodge in time, the blonde extended his own hand as well and the two collided. However, to the leaf-nin's surprise, the claws on Tamao's hand extended and continued heading towards the whisker-marks.

Naruto drew back his chakra palm, hoping to dodge the attack in time, but all he achieved was moving his vital points from the claws way. He let out a cry of pain as two claws cut his legs and one pierced through his left shoulder, widening his wound.

As blood dripped down the blonde's left hand, Kaku clenched his hand around the leaf-nin, trapping him yet again. As the beast's grip tightened, Naruto felt his bones start to crack. Having no way to perform hand seals, the whisker-marks decided to try a desperate move. In a fraction of a second his chakra hand shoot out towards the kunoichi's body and swiped her off her feet, making the hand grabbing him let go, opening the wound on his left shoulder completely.

"You wanna fight with tails, asshole?" asked Naruto through clenched teeth as he looked at Tamao, who was slowly getting back to her feet. "I have all nine of them!" and as he said so, the second, chakra tail grew from his back. Yet his eyes widen as he realized that he wasn't the only one who changed.

The girl's body was slowly being covered in hard stone, beginning with her neck and right arm. This new… mutation seemed completely not related to Kaku's current state as the orange chakra surrounding Tamao's body was still there.

"_What the hell?_" the blonde asked himself, confused as he observed the whole scene. "_She's starting to transform into something like Gaara back then, but it's different for some reason. This can't be good._" The moment he finished this thought, several small, stone hands shot from below ground in a third attempt to trap him.

Acting on instinct, Naruto jumped into the air and as the hands reached out to grab him, he used his chakra claws to break them into pieces. But even though he managed to avoid the first attack, he saw several, small, stone spikes forming in front of Kaku once again. Only this time, instead of sticking out from the ground, they shot out and flew right at him.

Having no way to dodge the assault in mid-air, the blonde extended his chakra hand and used it to grab a nearby building. Once his claws sunk into the building wall, he pulled himself out of the spikes way, avoiding certain death.

As the whisker-marks landed back on the ground, he charged at the kunoichi once more, performing an instant hand seal: "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" and in a flash seven Narutos appeared in the place of one.

"USELESS." came a deep voice from Tamao's mouth. But the blonde knew all too well that wasn't the girl's voice. At least not anymore. He knew a very similar voice: cold, superior, evil. He knew it, because he heard it in his own head. Such a voice belonged to Kyuubi. "I'll bust your butt out of her!" he only yelled back as each of the clones prepared a kunai.

At that moment, all hell broke loose. The first bunshin took a step forward and was suddenly pierced by a stone spike that shot toward him from the ground. The clone that ran after him jumped onto the spike and used it to close a little more of the distance to the girl. Meanwhile the other clones avoided other spikes that shot from the ground at them. One, however, did not make it.

Once the remaining clones escaped the forest of spikes, they found the ground opening itself before them, creating a large and wide hole, the bottom of which was covered in shadows. Tamao moved her right hand, which was now completely covered in rocks and three times as large as a human's, and the ground beneath the clones crack, making them lose their balance. Four managed to jump into the air in time. One was not so lucky.

The beast was yet undone. At it's command stone spikes once more shoot from the ground, flying at the four, remaining Narutos. Having no, other alternative, two clones grabbed the other two and tossed them out of the way right before they were pierced by the spikes themselves and disappeared in the cloud of white smoke.

As the last two remaining blondes landed on the other side of the pit, one normal and one surrounded with red chakra, they resumed their charge, just to stop a second later as stones flew from below ground yet again, forming before them and creating two, stone gargoyles that blocked their way through.

With a moment of hesitation the clone charged at the stone figures and jumped forward. But what seemed to be an attack, turned out to be a diversion as the real Naruto used his clone's back to jump even higher, above the stone creatures, while the bushin exploded due to an explosive tag it had in it's hand, destroying both gargoyles.

The last blonde, still surrounded by red chakra, continued moving forward and aimed his knife at the girl's head, only to have his attack blocked by the huge, stone hand of the kunoichi. In the next second, orange claws of chakra from the girl's other hand pierced right through the leaf-nin's body.

"LIKE I SAID," stated Kaku in a terrifying voice. "USELESS." but Naraku, who kept on writing on the scroll, not moved by anything that happened below, only said to himself with no emotions showing on his face: "_Big mistake. There were seven clones…_"

And as on queue the Naruto that had been pierced by the claws disappeared in a cloud of white smoke, making the demon's eyes widen. In an instant it turned around to see the real blonde standing right behind him and launching a chakra hand of his own at it.

As the red chakra grabbed the kunoichi, immobilizing her, the blonde stated without any satisfaction: "You shouldn't have created that spike forest which blocked your view. When you did that I made an extra clone and made one of my bushins use the henge to make itself look exactly the way I'm now."

"I SEE," announced Tamao in Kaku's voice. "CLEVER FOR A HUMAN. BUT I SHALL NOT ALLOW AN INSECT LIKE YOU TO STOP ME!" and as she finished her statement, a huge wave of rocks appeared behind the blonde, heading straight towards him.

Having no other way to dodge, the whisker-marks pulled closer to the kunoichi, using the chakra hand he had grabbed her with. But the moment he got close an evil smirk appeared on Tamao's face and small, sharp stones shot from below the ground and started to circle around the girl's body.

Naruto, who was now close to the kunoichi, received numerous small cuts in several places by those small rocks that suddenly formed a shield around the Kaku's vessel, including a cut on his right palm, forcing the blonde to jump back to avoid more serious damage. A moment later his eyes widened as he noticed that the stones that just a second ago were circling around the former stone-nin flew up and then came down straight at him, in an attempt to bury him under.

With no other option, the leaf-nin made a desperate move and extended his chakra field once more, growing a third tail on his back. To Kaku's surprise, the stones he sent onto the blonde scattered with the first contact with the red chakra. "_AN INTERESTING TURN OF EVENTS._" the beast thought to itself with a tiny smirk. "_I WONDER TO WHAT EXTENT HE'S MANAGED TO CONTROL THAT STUPID FOX CHAKRA._"

As the rock rain stopped, Naruto looked up, breathing heavily. And it was then that his eyes widened as he saw how Tamao looked at this point. Besides her right hand, her chest and legs were covered in rocks, and three rocky tails grew out of her back. The girl's head, which still remained human to an extent, now had sharp fangs growing from her mouth and ears slightly modified in shape..

"I'M REALLY ENJOYING THIS, BRAT." announced Kaku with satisfaction. "GO ON, SHOW ME HOW FAR YOU CAN GET." With that several, small stone spikes shot right at the blonde again, cutting him here and there.

The whisker-marks charged forward, but this time it was Kaku that extended a chakra field, making it so that Naruto was unable to go through. In the next second it got worse as the orange chakra began to form small spikes on the surface, which cutting the leaf-nin's body yet again. "_Dammit, I've run out of options!_" the boy cursed to himself as he began collecting chakra in his hand.

In a fraction of a second an orb of chakra appear in Naruto hand once again, only this time it wasn't blue. It was a bloody red. The blonde pushed his hand forward and to Kaku's surprise the orb broke right through his chakra, clearing the leaf-nin's way to him. "Kitsune Rasengan!" the whisker-marks yelled desperately as his attack connected with the stone armor of the seven-tailed beast.

Tamao's eyes widened as her rocky armor began to crack. Stones started to shoot out from it, leaving the girl's clothes as the only protection of her body yet again. Kaku's orange chakra and Kyuubi's red began circling around the two, in a strange way merging with each other and creating a small tornado above them.

And then a blinding flash of light shot from where the two Jinchuuriki stood, making it impossible to see what exactly happened. As the darkness of the night slowly returned, one could see Naruto and Tamao standing in front of each other, each breathing heavily. The former stone-nin's armor was completely gone, as were the colorful chakras that surrounded each of them. The blonde, however, had received many new cuts, his eyes had turned blue again, and he no longer had the claws and fangs.

"FOOLISH BRAT!" Kaku's voice came from Tamao's mouth yet again. But it was different then before. It wasn't cold or superior. It seemed exhausted. "DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD WIN? I'M THE MASTER OF EARTH! I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED BY INSECTS LIKE YOU!" With that he held out his hand and another stone spike began to form itself.

Naruto only stared at it. He was too weak to avoid it now. "_I gave that last blow everything I had._" he thought to himself with a weak smile. "_My hands and legs won't move… this is where it ends for me._"

Meanwhile Naraku finally wrote the last symbol on the scroll. As his blood sank into the material, he quickly pulled out a kunai and cut his right palm before performing a long set of hand seals. As he finished the symbol chain, he placed his right palm in the middle of the scroll and clenched his teeth as pain shoot through his hand when the symbols he drew with his own blood turned back into liquid and swam right into the cut he made.

As the pain grew bigger and bigger, small cuts suddenly began to appear on his right hand, eventually forming the sequence of symbols he just wrote on the scroll. Once all the blood he used for writing returned to his body and bloody marks stopped appearing, he backed away, still feeling pain.

The marks on his hand that appeared just a second ago began healing at an incredible rate. With a flash, they disappeared, leaving no sign of ever having been there. Only the cut on his palm remained. As the process finished, the former leaf-nin set his eyes on the kunoichi's body and with determination in his eyes he jumped into towards her. "_Consider this my final gift to you, Tamao-chan…_"

Naraku landed in front of Tamao and in a flash drew a symbol on her forehead with his own blood, using his middle and index fingers. Once the mark was complete, he covered it with his hand, which was still covered in his own blood, and began concentrating his chakra into his palm.

"_Naruto, I'm leaving everyone under your care_" the young Monodane thought to himself as veins suddenly began pulsing in his hand, which started shaking. In a flash Kaku's chakra began to escape the girl's body and flooded into the former leaf-nin's palm, making him clench his teeth in pain. As she slowly regained consciousness, Tamao whispered "Naraku-kun…" when she saw the boy and realized what was going on. The stone spike that was about to pierce through Naruto shattered.

"_In the end,_" Naraku thought to himself with a weak smile, "_this is my luck. It's always been my luck._" As that last thought ran through his mind, he coughed up blood and felt his skin begin to rip apart in the places he was cut before. "_Dammit! So soon? It's because of those injuries that swordsman left me. Shit, at this rate…_" But then another hand covered in blood landed on the one he was using to hold onto Tamao's head.

As the former leaf-nin looked to his right, he saw Naruto holding out his right hand as well. "I don't know what you're doing," he stated simply, "but it looks like you could use some help." And that moment, some of Kaku's chakra that Naraku was absorbing transferred into the blonde as well.

"_His hand is covered in his own blood,_" the young Monodane thought as he realized what was happening, "_and because of that the sealing works for him too? I didn't even know more then one person could use this sealing method at the same time. And by splitting Kaku's chakra in two…_" but he didn't finish that thought as he noticed the demon chakra in the girl's body disappear completely: "Naruto, take off your hand!" he yelled, making the Kyuubi vessel follow his command instantly.

Once their hands were off her forehead, Tamao collapsed to the ground, but before she hit it, the former leaf-nin managed to grab her and place her softly on the sand. Without looking back at the blonde, he said: "You might wanna lay down."

"Why?" asked Naruto, completely confused. At that point his vision became blur. He felt his strength leaving him and he collapsed. "That's why," answered Naraku before he followed the blonde's example and laid down in the sand next to the other two.

Night slowly became day and the sun began to rise over the horizon, causing sunrays to fall on the faces of the three, young ninjas who had just ended their battle. None of them wanted to fight it. None of them meant to hurt another. But war doesn't choose and demons care not about such things.

All around the sound of battle quieted down. The fight had ended. But the prize for this victory, which the Hidden Sand Village had to pay, was it too high? Even with the warm air blowing straight at them, the three remain motionless. Could this be the end of those three that met not so long ago and yet managed to became friends?

Could this be the end of Akaramu Tamao, Monodane Naraku… and Uzumaki Naruto?

_**---three, cold bodies lay in the rays of the morning sun… what awaits the trio?---**_

And so this chapter ends. Hope you liked it and that you'll leave a review with your opinion on it once you're done reading.

Not too many techniques used this time around, but there's one that needs describing anyway:

_Fuuton: Tatsumaki Hakka no Jutsu_ (Wind Element: Tornado Ignition Skill) – technique invented by Naruto. The whole secret behind it is to concentrate chakra into your hands and after performing the right hand seals, release it into the air. If performed correctly, the chakra that was send into the air will create a small tornado. In this chapter Naruto released the chakra under his feet, to use the tornado to lift himself up.

And I believe that's that for this time. Hope you had a good time reading this and that you'll bless me with a review once you're done. Best wishes and until next time!


	15. Recovery and Rewards

**Dynamic Updatto!** Surprise! Never thought I'll be able to pull something like that off again, but here I am! Just like the previous time, I'm able to update ALL my "Naruto" fic at the same time! Also this time around it's more of a celebration! Tomorrow I'm turning 21 (boy, am I old or what) and to make it special not only for me but for you guys also, I've decided to sit down to it and wrote new chapters of all my fics. Hope you'll enjoy them!

To be honest, I've never expected to finish this chapter so fast, but I got a sudden inspiration and there you go. If I only could update like that all the time… don't suppose that'll be possible though. At least I'll do my best to keep the good, update pace.

Now, most of you were really interested if Naruto, Naraku and Tamao survived, so all I can say that if you'll read this chapter, you'll basically know everything. Thanks for all the reviews for the previous chapter. I do hope that you'll like this one at least as much as the previous.

Falkyn Speaking: Since there's a deadline on this, I'm going to try and finish this faster than I did last time. I don't have much time until after the deadline, so I'm going to give this a quick once-over with grammar and spell check, and then I'll do a quick read through. If there's anything that bugs me enough, I'll change it, but if not, you'll just have to deal with it. Blame me, not Shang. Oh, by the way, happy birthday, dude.

And now, without further to do:

**Chapter #15: Recovery and Rewards**

**_Title Page:_** Naruto is sitting in the room with a window showing a crescent moon, as he tries to write something with a goose feather (most likely a love poem)

Hinata's head shoot up the moment someone's hand landed on her shoulder. As she looked to her right, she noticed Neji standing right next to her with concern showing on his face: "It's already been two days, Hinata-sama…" he stated simply. "You should rest…"

"I…" began the Hyuuga heiress as she looked with worry at the blonde. Her face saddened even more as she observed her crush laying motionless on the bed with only his chest moving up and down slightly. "I don't want to…" she finally managed to speak up after a short silence. "Because I fear that if I were to leave him… I might not see him again…"

At hearing that the Hyuuga genius lowered his head slightly and stared at the floor. The girl hesitated for a short moment, before she continued: "Tamao-san… Naraku-san… Naruto-kun… just because I wasn't strong enough… just because I didn't manage to stop Tamao-san, they're all… In the end, I'm just as useless as I've always been…" and with those words tears began running down her face.

Neji stood there for a moment, looking at his cousin and then slowly made her turn around to look at him. As his white eyes stared deep into hers, now filled with water, he announced calmly: "Only people with great strength can admit that they're weak… no-one's undefeated, Hinata-sama. We all have our limits. What's important is to do as much as you can… nobody can ask you for more then that…"

"But why?" asked the girl, sobbing as tears kept on falling from her face to the floor. "Why, with all my training, am I still so useless? I can't do anything for those who are important to me… I can't do anything to help Naruto-kun…"

"You're wrong…" the Hyuuga genius corrected her, still calm. "You have always struggled to change… that is your greatest strength, Hinata-sama. You're not useless… or if anything, I'm just as useless as you are. But just sitting around and complaining about it won't change a thing. If you really feel that you're not strong enough to protect those that matter to you, there's only one thing you can do… Get stronger…"

The girl looked at the blonde, who still lay in bed motionless, through tears in her eyes. As she observed his face, she tightened her grip on the trouser legs of her pants and, turning back to her cousin, she asked with determination in her voice: "Neji-niisan… when everything will calm down, will… will you… will you please, train me?"

The boy only smiled as he nodded. That was the Hinata that he knew. Just then a quiet crack was heard and as the two Hyuuga look at the door, they saw Kasumi walking in. The weapon mistress kept on throwing her eyes in all direction as a small, almost invisible blush appeared on her face: "I just came by to see how Naruto was doing…" she stated a bit nervously.

Neji's smile only widen at the sight: "_She really does try to keep distant…_" he thought to himself as he observed the former mist-nin. "_I guess it's hard for her to admit that she worries about Naruto as much as about the other two…_"

"He still hasn't woken up…" replied Hinata sadly as she threw the blonde a worried glance. After that a short silence felt between the trio, until the Hyuuga heiress spoke up again: "What about Naraku-san and Tamao-san? Are they doing alright?"

"Not worse then this pinhead…" replied Kasumi as she pointed Naruto with her head. "However, they're not doing better either. Guess we shouldn't complain really, considering that with all that has happened, it's a miracle all of them are alive… at least for now…" and with that she threw a quick glance at Neji. "I guess I'll leave you guys alone for now… but I'll drop by sometime soon… see ya…" and with that she left the room.

The Hyuuga genius only turned her sight at his cousin and noticing that she once more gathered all her attention on the sleeping blonde, he too walked towards the door and exited the room without making a sound. Hinata was once more left alone with her love in the dim room of the Suna hospital, regretting all the things she haven't told him…

---That time, elsewhere---

"Aren't ya going to visit that runt?" Temari asked her companion as they laid on the rooftop near the hospital. "I thought you guys were good friends… or is it that you're just too lazy to move your butt?"

"Neither…" replied Shikamaru without even looking at her. He just kept staring at the stars with a worried expression on his face. "I may be a lazy bum and care little about many things, but… even I know as much that it's better to leave him under Hinata's care…"

"And what if he won't wake up?" asked the Sand kunoichi. "You'll regret that you haven't gone to see him…" but the leaf-nin only shook his head: "This is also a lesson you must learn when you become friends with someone… you must learn to believe in them…." For a moment they both kept quiet, until Shikamaru spoke up again: "Naruto will wake up… I'm sure of that…"

---Back at the Suna hospital---

Yari lay buried in Gaara's arms as the Kazekage sat on a branch near the door leading to Naruto's room. He kept quiet as the blue-haired girl kept on crying in his shoulder: "I never wanted… to think that… that it's even possible for… for either of them to disappear… and now that it's become this real I… I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to get through it, Gaara-kun…"

The redhead only placed his hand on her head, but the kunoichi didn't raise her sight. A sad expression crossed Shukaku's vessel's face as he began: "They're all strong people… even though I knew some of them only for a very short while, I can tell that they're not the ones to give up so easily… believe when I say that it'll turn out alright… you're not alone, Yari-chan… you have Kasumi, Hinako, Temari, Kankuro… and you've got me…" at this point she lifted her head slightly and gave the boy a weak smile, yet tears still kept on running down her cheeks.

It was then that Kankuro came down the hallway and stopped right before them. The Kazekage gave him a questioning glance and so the puppeteer began: "Sorry to interrupt, but I figure you should be informed ASAP, Gaara… that missing-nin that Hinako said was taken prisoner by our ANBU… it'd seem that the entire ANBU squad was wiped out and the prisoner has disappeared…"

"Most likely it's the work of Tsumeko and those other two we saw just before he ran away…" concluded the redhead calmly. "Probably that mist-nin was their comrade… but it is most disturbing to know that Juusan Akuma possess this much strength… from now on we should be ready for the attack… it may come at any, given time…"

"I'll arrange some extra guards for the time being…" announced the make-up using boy. "I don't suppose the Sound will make an attempt to attack us anytime soon, however those two Akatsuki that were seen in the village are nowhere to be found either…"

"Things are getting really bad indeed…" stated Gaara as his brother walked away. Yari noticed the expression on his face. She knew it all too well. The redhead boy always had it when he was rejected by people. She knew it, because it was the same face he had the night she became a missing-nin.

In an instant she forgot about her worries and even though her tears kept on falling down, she straighten up and embrace the Shukaku vessel as warm as she could. Gaara looked at her for a moment surprised and then, with a weak smile, hugged her as well. For that short moment everything else didn't matter.

Time went by and night slowly turned into day and then back into the night, unmoved by the tragedy that took place in the Hidden Sand. For time waits for no-one and cares about nothing. It just goes on and on, regardless to everything. But as time seemed uninterested in what was going on in the Suna hospital, so was Hinata uninterested in it slipping by. The only thing that mattered for her was a certain, blonde boy, who lay in bed next to which she sat, still motionless.

The Hyuuga heiress did not move either. All this time she sat next to the bed and observed the whisker-marks boy. Even though her organism forced her to take a break, she still remained on duty. This was more important to her… much more important then anyone could imagine.

Kasumi and Neji stopped by from time to time to check up on both Naruto and her. Even Gaara managed to get a break from his duties to drop by with Yari. Finally also Shikamaru couldn't bare the long wait and came by for a moment along with Temari. Only Hinako did not appear, but Hinata knew all too well why that was so and she couldn't blame the former cloud-nin for that.

The white-eyed girl felt awful that she didn't go to check on neither Naraku nor Tamao, but the vision on leaving Naruto by himself scared her to no end. She kept apologizing for the two missing-nins for that, in her mind, between the prayers for all three to wake up.

Midnight passed and a crescent moon brightened the streets of Suna with an accompaniment of hundreds, if not thousands, of stars that shun right next to it. And it was thanks to those moon rays that Hinata saw the blonde's hand moved an inch or two. Her eyes widen as the whisker-marks body started shaking and after a minute the Leaf's loudest ninja sat up, a little confused, but surely alive.

In a fraction of a second she wrapped her arms around his neck with a cheerful call: "Naruto-kun, you're finally awake!" thus gaining a surprised glance from the blonde. A second later she realized what she had just done and jumped away as if she got burnt, red all over her face, which might be seen as though she really did get burnt. "Glad that you're with us again… everyone was worried…"

"It's good to be back…" he replied, smiling widely to the girl as a tiny blush appeared on his face as well. "Sorry I made you worry, Hinata-chan…" but then, he suddenly remembered what happened and with his face turning slightly grim, he asked: "Are Naraku and Tamao okay?"

"They… they're unconscious, just like you were, Naruto-kun…" announced Hinata with sadness in her voice as she lowered her head. "They're resting in the rooms next door…" and once she said that, the blonde instantly got up and headed towards the door. She wished to stop him, but she knew all too well that even if the Kyuubi vessel would be endangering his life by doing so, he'd still go to check if his friends are alright.

---Meanwhile, somewhere else---

Naraku blinked before he opened his eyes. His body felt heavy and he seemed to have trouble moving it. Finally, putting a lot of effort into it, he managed to sit up by helping himself with his hands. It was when he propped himself on his right hand that he felt incredible pain in it. The former leaf-nin threw it a quick look with his eyes slightly narrowed: "_Side effects of the sealing? Well, considering I shouldn't be alive after performing that, I don't suppose I should complain anyway…_" and only then did he noticed Hinako sleeping on the right side of his bed, with her finger cut. The young Monodane gave her a sad look as the door leading to the room opened and he centered his sight at them.

At the same time the green-haired girl woke up and realizing what happened she grabbed the former leaf-nin by the hand: "Naraku-sama, you've finally returned to us! I was so afraid! After Kasumi said what you were trying to do, I… I just…" and at this point her voice broke. She was never the one that liked to break shinobi rules and so she just stopped, otherwise she might've broke the one that's the most important.

"It is indeed a wonderful surprise…" nodded Hinata as she walked in right after Naruto. "Kasumi-san told me the only way to stop Tamao-san and I grew worried… but how… how is it that you…?" she began, but before she could finish, Naraku replied:

"Most likely… it's his fault…" and with that he pointed at Naruto with his head. "The whole point of that sealing method I've used is to create a connection with the demon that's about to get loose… that can only be done by a very complex ritual. But there's also another requirement… for the seal to work, the one performing it must sacrifice his life to the beast and that can only be done by using ones blood…" and with that he glanced suspiciously at the blonde: "By placing my hand with an opened wound on the symbol that I wrote on Tamao-chan's forehead, I made the chakra the demon was using to get free to go into my own body, thus making the beast weak and go back to its prison… however demon's chakra is too much for a single human to take over, that's why this sealing method is somewhat a suicide… I suppose only another Jinchuuriki could perform it and not get killed…" and so he looked at his right hand for a moment, before raising his sight at Naruto again: "When you placed your hand, which also had an opened wound on my hand, you somehow absorbed some of Kaku's chakra that was supposed to go into my body… Kaku's chakra split into two bodies in stead of one and so we're both still alive… but that's just my guess…"

"So to make it short, I've saved your life?" asked Naruto, not getting much of Naraku's explanation. The former leaf-nin only nodded, which made the loud mouth smile widely: "I so rock!" and with that he began jumping up and down with joy.

Naraku observed the whole scene, sweat dropping slightly and then couldn't help but smile as he looked at Hinata, who was also smiling widely at the blonde's behavior. But after a short moment the young Monodane's eyes widen as he looked at Hinako and with a little insecure voice, he asked the green-haired girl: "Is… Tamao-chan alright?"

The Cloud kunoichi's face turned sad for a split second and then, with a little fake smile, she replied: "She's alive for starters, but she hasn't woken up yet… she's resting in the room just across the hallway…" and once she said so, the former leaf-nin stood up, having some trouble with it.

"Naraku-sama, you shouldn't be moving yet…" Hinako announced, but after a moment of thought, she realized that it was pointless to say this. The former leaf-nin once more gave her a sad glance as she looked away: "I… please excuse me, Naraku-sama, but I'm a little tired, so if you don't mind, I'd like to go to my room now…" and with that she headed to the door, a little too fast.

Naraku glanced after her as the door shut close and then lowered his sight: "_Is this really all I'm capable of doing?_" he thought to himself. Hinata also stared after the former cloud-nin with a worried expression. In a way she understood her all too well.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to excuse myself as well…" announced the former leaf-nin as he slowly headed to the door. None of the two that remained in the room stopped him. As he disappeared from their view, Naruto threw the kunoichi a sad glare. The girl only gave a weak smile and then said to no-one in particular:

"It's really hard…" and as the blonde gave her a questioning look, which she mostly ignored, she went on: "To admit your feelings… or to fight with them… these things are never as simple as we'd want them to be…" and with that she lowered her head.

In that moment the loud mouth came towards her and wrapped his arm around her, making her blush slightly: "No… no, it's not…" he admitted with a weak smile as well. "But once you manage to do it and things will work out for the best… a great reward awaits…" and with that he smiled widely to her, making her return the smile.

---Meanwhile---

Naraku walked into the room in which the only light source was the moonlight falling in through a single window located just above the only bed in it. On the bed, covered by the sheet, laid Tamao with her face completely pale, her hair a mess and her closed eyes resembling holes more then eyes. She looked much more thinly then usually, like she hasn't eaten in a longer while.

The young Monodane took a chair and placed it right next to the girl's bed. As he sat down, he looked at her sleeping face and propped his elbows on her bed, hiding his face behind his hands for a split second. As he turned his head to look at her again, he managed a weak smile, before he moved some of the girl's hair that were falling on her left eye, thus revealing a strange symbol written with blood on her forehead.

"Hinako, you're really too nosey sometimes…" the boy said to himself, smiling slightly as his eyes stopped at the symbol for a moment. After that he once more looked at the girl's face and his smile widen a little.

"You know…" he began while looking at the girl's face, still pale, but peaceful. "I recall the day that we first met… so much time passed since then… just like an eternity… and at the same time it seems as short as star twinkle… those seven years ago when we were still just brats… in a way, I suppose I'm still that pipsqueak for whom the world was a great mystery…" he chuckled at the memory, giving a short look out the window.

"I was just a stupid brat, who didn't saw too many things in his life…" he continued with a warm smile appearing on his face as he turned again towards the girl. "But that moment I first saw you, I somehow knew that I will never see anything more beautiful… I can't even tell you how much I regret not telling you that for so long… I guess that's the part of that brat from back then that just won't disappear…" and so he laughed to himself for a short second.

"Or maybe I was just too afraid?" he asked himself after a short silence. "Not exactly being rejected… in a way, I'd understand that… I guess... I was more afraid of what would happen… if you'd actually accept me. After everything that happened, I was just scared that you'd end up just like everyone I cared about… that once again I just won't be strong enough to protect you, just like when that time…" and so his eyes narrowed slightly as he lowered his head to look at the floor. He stayed like this for few minutes, before he raised his sight again.

He once more looked the girl's face over and couldn't help but smile at the sight: "Even in this state, you're still so beautiful… that peaceful look on your face… how I wish to be able to make it stay on you…" and with that he touched her cheek with his hand. "Those seven years ago, when you left the Iwa with me, I really hoped that I won't see you looking like this again… I promised myself that I won't allow the nightmare from that day to repeat… that you won't have to fear all that happening again…" his face sadden at mentioning that. "Yet, another promise I wasn't able to keep…"

He stopped talking. His sight stopped at her face again. As he grabbed her hand, he felt it was still cold… and yet, at the same time, warm. "In the very end, the only thing I can do for you…" he finally spoke up. "Is to be here… as always, above all my strength, the things I can do for those I care about… are so little…"

---That time, elsewhere---

Hinako heard a knock on the door. She walked to it a little annoyed, but as she opened it up, her annoyance got replaced by surprise: "What are you two doing here?" she asked the guests. "I thought you were going to stay with Naraku-sama at the hospital…"

"We figured…" began Hinata slowly. "We figured it'd be better to leave them alone… and I believe that you came to a similar conclusion, Hinako-san…" the green-haired girl only lowered her head slightly. The Hyuuga heiress didn't say a thing for a short while, but finally decided to break the silence: "Naruto-kun and I came here… we hoped…" but she couldn't find good words to put it, so the blonde cut it:

"We were hoping you could fill us in on what's between Naraku and Tamao…" and at hearing that the former cloud-nin narrowed her eyes slightly. She looked up at the Kyuubi vessel surprised and stared deep into his sky-blue eyes. After a moment of hesitation she stepped aside, letting them into her room.

As the two walked it, she closed the door and with turning towards them, she announced: "You might wanna get something to eat and drink, coz it's kinda a long story… most likely it'll take all night…"

"We have time…" Naruto assured her as he and Hinata settled down. Hinako soon joined them, sitting in front of the two and after a moment of thought, she speak up: "If I were to tell you the entire story, we wouldn't be done in a week time… besides, it's not really that important to present that version to you… you want to know what's between Naraku-sama and Tamao… well then, that story starts about a year after Naraku-sama left Konoha… his journey brought him to the Hidden Stone Village… and this is when they met…"

_**---The story yet untold… past sins are about to be revealed!---**_

And so this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll bless me with a review after you're done reading. Next time: travel back in time to when Naraku meet Tamao! Tamao's past is finally revealed! Why did she join Naraku? How come Naraku knows how to seal Kaku away? Don't miss the next chapter!

I believe that for this time around there's nothing more to say, so I'd just like to repeat my request for you to leave a review (as a present maybe) once you're done. It'd mean a lot.

Take care and until next time, hopefully.


	16. Angel With Cut Wings part I

First off: sorry for taking so long to update. I had tons of things on my head (for example my grandma whose condition gotten from bad to horrible and nothing can be done about it). Also, I was hoping for this chapter to be betalized, however Falkynbird, my beta, sadly had too much on his head as well and thus I've decided to stop waiting for mistakes correction. I just went over the chapter myself and fixed what I could. Sorry for all the grammar errors that'll most likely appear in this one.

Thanks for the reviews for last time, but I must say that I'm slightly disappointed in the number of those. Collage is getting really troublesome and if the popularity of this fic won't be satisfying, I'll put it **ON HOLD**, so if you wanna know what happens next: review.

I must admit that this chapter looks slightly different then how I imagined it when I first thought up this story. Though I must say that I prefer the way I did it now (it might due to the manga I've began reading only few days ago, which really dragged me in and got me in a romantic mood).

So, without further delays:

**Chapter #16: Angel With Cut Wings – Tamao's Story part I**

**_Title Page:_** Tamao is glancing down to her left, blushing slightly and holding her hand in front of her mouth as the wind blows her hair to her left

A twelve-year-old boy with spiky, brown hair and green eyes stopped in front of a massive, metal gate with a large symbol that's suppose to scare demons away on it. The boy was wearing a black t-shirt and a green vest on that. His green pants were slightly baggy and you could see metal protectors on his hands.

"Who are you?" demanded one of the guards, a man in his thirties with long, blonde hair and hazel eyes, wearing a mostly black and brown outfit and a hitae-ate with the rock symbol on his forehead as he aimed his spear at the young arrival. The boy didn't seemed to be scared at all. He just glanced at the weapon and then back at the man with a stone-calm face.

After a short silence, he bowed and announced, keeping his calm: "If that's not a problem, I'd wish to speak with the leader of this village, the great Tsuchikage! I have a thing of great importance to me to ask him… once he'll answer my question, I promise to head my way…"

"And what is your name?" asked the other man suspiciously, but the boy did not reply. He just glances at the other guard and after a longer silence, he announced: "I'm terribly sorry, but I'd prefer to keep my identity a secret until I'll meet Tsuchikage-sama… if you feel the need for it, I'll give away all my weapons and will even allow myself to get tied up and trapped in genjutsu if it's needed, but I really need to see Tsuchikage-sama… I will reveal my name to him only…"

The man that was aiming his spear at him stared at the boy for a short while and then nodded, turning to his companion: "I'll take this kid to Tsuchikage-sama… shouldn't take too long, Ookusa…" and with that the huge gate opened, letting the boy and the man in.

The visitor looked around impressed. He never got a chance to see Iwa Gakure, one of the Five Great Villages of shinobi world. It was even more exciting as the town itself was located in the wide, round crater with high, mountain walls surrounding it from every direction, throwing long shades on the entire village.

All the buildings were made of grey stone and weren't painted in any way. With the shadows covering the village from the mountains, it really made a rather disturbing sight for a twelve-year-old. Each of the buildings had just one shape: a square or a bunch of squares put to together. In several places he saw towers that reached the sky with sun deflected be their glass windows, once it hit them.

In very few spots of the village, where shadows did not reach, the boy noticed parks and gardens, each filled with thin trees and messed bushes, surrounding tens of flowers of incredible shapes, like stars. Those places were basically the only, colorful ones around as the streets were all made of grey stone and were surrounded by buildings that look strangely similar to one another. The boy thought that if he were to walk this place alone, he'd surely get lost sooner all later.

As their journey continued, the boy realized they have been going down from the moment he walked through the gate. Only then did he noticed that the whole village was separated into some sort of rings, one surrounding another that was located on a lower level. He came to a conclusion that they had to be ledges of the crater the town was located in.

"First time seeing a shinobi village?" the guard asked with a smile as he noticed the boy's amazed look as he threw glances from one side to the other. The twelve-year-old stopped observing the surroundings for a moment and upon turning to the man, he replied hesitantly: "No… second actually…"

The man was surprised by that answer, yet he did not say a word. Finally they reached the lowest ring of the village, which only had a large estate located in the middle and few building surrounding it. What seemed odd to the boy was the fact that this was the only district that was completely exposed to the sun. As they reached a wide gate, the boy noticed a huge kanji symbol for 'earth' located right above it in the white circle.

As the passed through the gate, they've entered a strange garden, which had a lot of flowers, trees and bushes near the walls, yet there was just an empty, round space between them. As the boy looked in the middle of it, he noticed a young girl. She had long, blonde hair, clipped in a ponytail that was tied with a large, red ribbon and with two braids falling on the two sides of her face. Her eyes were sky-blue and she was wearing a black t-shirt with a yellow vest on that. Her pants were also yellow and baggy and she was carrying a large scroll on her back. The boy also noticed an Iwa forehead protector around her neck.

The young kunoichi noticed the boy starring and instantly turn around, blushing slightly. In a flash she disappeared behind a nearby tree and observed the strange arrival from behind the leaves. The boy also stared in the place she was, even though he couldn't see her. Finally they reached the entrance to a large building, made in a similar style as every, other one in the village, and walked in, leaving the garden behind.

After a short marsh they reached the Tsuchikage's office and as the man knocked on it, a loud 'enter' was heard. As they walked in, the boy noticed a man sitting behind his desk. He had messy, blonde hair and hazel eyes. The man carried a large scar on his left cheek and war wearing a white and brown robe. The twelve-year-old also noticed a headgear with the 'earth' symbol on it laying on the desk.

The man slowly got up and walked over to the boy, smiling widely. The guard immediately bowed as he announced: "Terribly sorry for interrupting, Tsuchikage-sama, but this boy asked to see you and…"

"It's okay Ishiwa…" announced the other man gently as he glanced at the guard. "Thank you for bringing him here… you may go back to your duties…" and with that the guard bowed before disappearing the cloud of white smoke. The other man glanced at the boy once more and still smiling, he asked: "What would a man your age do here all by himself?"

"Forgive my rudeness, Tsuchikage-sama…" the boy bowed shortly before he continued: "But considering the circumstances, I figured you'll be the best man to ask about my brother's whereabouts… since most likely you were the last one to see him…"

"Was I?" asked the man with a raised eyebrow, yet still with a soft voice. "And who might your brother be then?"

"Monodane Resshin…" the boy replied quickly, making the man's eyes widen. He took a closer look at the boy and then narrowed his eyes at the realization: "Indeed, the resemblance is quite big… I haven't noticed it since now… guess I didn't expect any of Resshin's family to show up… he told me…"

"What he said was not entirely true…" responded the boy angrily as the memory of a certain event shoot in his mind. "He did kill our entire clan, yet at the time he was doing so, my parents and my young sister… we were outside the village… by the time we got back, my brother has already fled somewhere…"

"And you came here seeking revenge…" conclude the Tsuchikage as he gave the boy a sad glance. Silence felt between them for a longer while as the man looked out the window and stared at the clouds. Without turning back to the young Monodane, he announced: "I don't suppose it'll change anything, but I'm really sorry about what Resshin did… I have never expected Iwa's ambition to push him that far… and I know that nothing I can say will make you feel any better… nor will it make you stop hating me… I'm afraid that I can't help you however… once I've heard about Resshin's doing, I didn't want him in my village… he disappeared somewhere soon after, none of my shinobi knows the direction he went…"

"So I came here for nothing…" Naraku lowered his head disappointed. He then glanced outside the window and narrowing his eyes, he said out loud to no-one in particular. "I guess I'll be leaving then… sorry for the trouble, Tsuchikage-sama…" and so he bowed again before heading towards the door.

"And so you're just gonna leave?" asked the man calmly, making the boy stop halfway. "I'm aware it's not easy for you to accept, but you shouldn't travel throughout the Earth Country at this time… the winter is coming and around here it gets pretty cold… I offer you to stay here till the season change…"

"Thank you for the offer, Tsuchikage-sama…" replied Naraku, without even turning around. "However I made a promise… besides my family, someone else was involved in that incident… someone that was important to me… maybe even more important then my relatives… and that someone died, because I wasn't there… she died because of my brother's sick game… I swore to that person, just before she died in front of my eyes, that I'll hunt Resshin down… and kill him…"

"In a way I can understand you…" announced the Iwa leader calmly. "But do reconsider… taking you as a guest is the least I can do to redeem myself from what Resshin didn't because of me… and if you'll accept my offer, my daughter will surely show you around…"

"Your daughter?" the young Monodane repeated confused and just then the Tsuchikage came towards the window, calling out: "Tamao, my dear, would you mind joining me in my office for a moment?" and in a flash the girl with blonde hair and blue eyes that Naraku saw in the garden appeared in the room by jumping through the window.

"Yes father?" she asked quietly and only then realized that her parent had a guest in his office. In an instant she hid her head behind her hitae-ate as much as she could as a blush appeared on her face. She held her hands before her face unsure and backed away from the boy, reaching her father.

A small blush appeared on the young Monodane's face as well as he turned to look at the ceiling. The Tsuchikage only glanced at the two kids and then smiled under his nose before turning towards his daughter: "Tamao, my dear, I have a request…" and with that he pointed at the former leaf-nin: "This is Monodane Naraku… he'll be our guest for some time… I was hoping that you would show him around… give him a tour of the village…"

"Y… yes, father…" the girl replied shyly with a bow, yet her face stayed red. She walked over to the boy, who extended his hand, thus making the kunoichi jump back immediately. The former leaf-nin glanced at her confused, thus making her blush even more. "P… please, follow me…" she asked quietly as she opened the door and exited the room.

Naraku, confused even more, soon follow. As the two kids walked down the hallway, none spoke a word. Tamao walked out front, buried behind her hitae-ate with a deep blush on her face and starring at the floor and Naraku following behind, confused slightly, but also red on the face.

As they entered the garden, the former leaf-nin finally found enough courage to break the silence and swallowing his saliva loudly, he spoke up: "So… as your father said, my name's Monodane Naraku… and since we'll probably be spending some time together, it'd be much easier if you'd tell me yours…" and at those words his face redden even more, yet because the girl still had her back turned towards him, he didn't realize she got redder on the face as well. "It'd be strange for me to just call you 'hey girl'…" he joked, scratching the back of his head.

"It… it's Akaramu Tamao…" she replied quietly after a short hesitation, yet still didn't turn around to face the traveler. As she said so Naraku appeared in front of her and with a wide smile on his face, he extended his hand once more: "Well then, nice to meet you, Tamao-chan…"

The kunoichi hesitated for another moment. She wanted to take a step back, but for some reason she felt that she didn't needed to. Surprisingly she found the fact that the boy she meet just few minutes ago was holding his hand towards her calming her. It was unusual, considering that very few people really smiled to her, even less were this friendly.

After a short moment she held out her hand as well and shook the boy's arm: "N-nice to meet y-you too… Naraku-kun…" she announced with a warm smile, making the boy blush deeply again and the moment he realized that they were still shaking hands, he swallowed his saliva loudly again.

Tamao got a little confused by this and then she realized the same thing Naraku did a second ago. With a loud 'kyaah' she jumped away as if she got burnt and with her face completely red. The young Monodane grabbed his chest were his heart was, cursing in his mind: "_Calm down, dammit!_" turning around at the same moment, not to let the girl knowing of the way he just acted.

After a minute they both managed to calm down somehow and once more turned to face each other. Still a little nervous, Tamao managed to asked with a little shaking voice: "S-so… where would y-you l-like to go, N-naraku-kun?"

"Well…" began the boy, scratching the back of his head as a tiny blush was still visible on his face and a single drop of sweat run down his face. "You're the local, maybe there's some cool place you could take me to?" and as he purposed that, the girl thought for a moment.

"I…" she then said shyly. "I think I know a good place…" she announced cheerfully and completely loosing herself she grabbed the boy's hand to drag him behind her. Only after a moment did she realized what she just did and once more she let go of the leaf-nin's hand, blushing deeply and turned around bowing to apologize to Naraku, yet the boy was already lost:

"_Shut up already!_" he cursed in his mind as his heart almost shoot out from his chest by pounding loudly. Once more both took their time to calm down and then headed to the place Tamao mentioned before.

The place the kunoichi led the young Monodane to turned out to be a viewpoint, though not a typical one as it was just a small ledge, located above the entire village. As Naraku glanced down, he saw the whole town beneath him. Sunrays felt on the two kids as the boy took a deep breath. With a wide smile he glanced at the girl, who stood behind him and the moment he did so, she turned away, blushing deeply.

"This place is great, Tamao-chan!" he announced cheerfully, still smiling. "You feel like you're the top of the world when you stand on the edge! Have you tried it?" but the blonde only shook her head quickly in negation. "How come no-one comes around here?"

"It's b-because…" began the girl shyly, avoiding the boy's sight. "The o-only one, who k-knows about this p-place… are my father… and me…" and with that she paused for a moment. "My mother shown it t-to me when I was very little… s-she said that it w-was the place where m-my father purposed to her… she then t-told me… well…" but at this point her voice broke for some reason.

She couldn't understand why she brought the boy she just meet here. And even after giving her mother a promise like that. It seemed illogical and yet… it felt right. This boy… that Monodane Naraku… he seemed different from the people she meet so far… but then, he didn't knew everything about her yet… and if he would, then he'd turn away from her… just like everybody did.

"N-naraku-kun…" she began shyly, gaining the boy's attention once more. "W-we should go… I know other p-places which you might w-wanna see…" and with that the two kids took a walk around the Hidden Stone Village, laughing and just having fun.

That night Naraku found it hard to sleep. He looked outside the window and just barely saw the stars shining on the sky through the mountain ceiling. His heart kept on pounding like crazy and his face still had a bright, red color. He felt that he was sweating slightly and what annoyed him the most was the fact that he couldn't control any of it.

"_Dammit, what's with me?_" he asked himself as he walked around the room. "_For some reason every time I think of that girl, me heart starts racing… and it's even worse then that time when Aiko-chan…_" but at this point he stopped and looked at the floor.

"_But I must admit Tamao-chan is pretty cute…_" he thought with a smile as his face turn red even more. "_Today, when I was with her, I actually forgot about Resshin completely… heck, I felt like I forgot about the entire world... not even Aiko-chan could do that… maybe I should…_" he began but just the thought made his heart almost shoot out from his chest again and sweat covered most of his red face. He shook his head in negation: "_What the hell am I thinking? I can't! No matter how much I want to… besides, what chances do I have?_" and then his thoughts got interrupted.

Suddenly Naraku heard a strange noise coming from the outside. It was the sound of a blast. In a flash he got to his feet and jumped out the window. But as he landed in the garden, all he saw was the Godaime of Iwa, standing before the pile of small rocks with his right hand extended. As the older man noticed the boy's presence, he turned towards him and smiled widely: "Forgive me, Naraku… I didn't meant to wake you up…"

"No, it's okay…" assured the former leaf-nin. "I couldn't sleep anyway… but that sound just now… what happened?" and with that he threw the man a questioning glance. The Hidden Stone leader only smiled under his nose before he replied: "Mitsukai Hokori… it's a technique I invented a long time ago… it was when I met your Yondaime on the battlefield during the last, Great War… we were both only jounin back then… when he used his Rasengan to defeat me, I knew I had to form a counter of some sort… soon the idea of this technique came to my mind…"

"Wow… a technique that's equal to the famous Rasengan…"

"It surpasses it…" corrected the Tsuchikage with a tiny smirk appearing on his face. "But don't get too fired up: at the same time it requires much more chakra, better control of it and is dangerous also for the user. If I'd allow it to go out of my control, in worst case scenario the entire village could disappear…"

"Then why are you risking so much?" asked Naraku confused. "If it's that dangerous to use it in the village, why as a Tsuchikage you do it for training only, Ishido-sama?" the man only lowered his head at the boy's question and after a short moment of silence, he replied: "It's for Tamao… you see, she's… different then others… she's special… but not 'special' in the way you see her…" and at this point the former leaf-nin's eyes widen in surprise. The Iwa leader only smiled before he continued: "You thought I didn't notice? Don't insult an adult… and most of all Tamao's my daughter, so I can tell what's been going on…"

"I…" the young Monodane began, but he was instantly interrupted by Ishido: "Don't… it's not like you can help it… to tell you the truth, I'm actually happy with this… Tamao doesn't really have any friends… much less those that are around her own age… I guess what's going on right now is new to her… I'll be observing you closely however, so don't think about hurting her…" and with that he smirked evilly, making shivers run down Naraku's spine.

"But I don't understand, Tsuchikage-sama…" announced the former leaf-nin after a short moment. "If that technique is so dangerous, why did you said you're training it for Tamao-chan's sake? Tamao-chan isn't someone who likes to hurt people… even after knowing her for such a short among of time I can tell this much… so why…"

"I tough her this jutsu…" came a response as Ishido lowered his head. "You see, even though she hates to fight, Tamao can become really dangerous… she just can't help it… and once she'll go berserk, no-one can really stop her… at least no-one that's human. This technique… Mitsukai Hokori… is the only way to break through to her in order to help her calm down…"

"_Help her calm down?_" Naraku repeated in his mind surprised. "_Tamao-chan can be dangerous? What's this all about?_" and after he thought that, he settled his sight on the Iwa leader: "Ishido-sama, you say that Tamao-chan can go berserk just like that?" the man only nodded. "And without that technique… I won't be able to help her?" another nod. Naraku only narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the ground. After a short moment of hesitation, he turned towards the man once more, this time with determination in his eyes: "If that's the case, then please, Tsuchikage-sama… teach me this technique!" and as he said so, the Iwa leader looked at him surprised as the boy bowed deeply.

"Why would you ask me…?" he began, but the boy didn't allow him to finish: "She'd suffer… Tamao-chan is a gentle person… I can tell that if she could, she'd prefer not to become a shinobi… she hates hurting people… so if she'd lose control over herself, her heart would broke… I do not wish for something like that to happen… I'm not saying that I'd be able to do a thing in that kind of situation… but if that technique would be helpful to her… I'd be able to at least give it a try and save her!"

The Tsuchikage only looked at the boy, even more surprised and after a short moment he walked over to him and placed a hand on his head, thus making the young Monodane raise his head from his bow: "You really are different from Resshin, Naraku… I could tell that the moment you entered my office. Resshin never cared about anyone besides himself, but you… you think more about others then even yourself… there are very few people in the world who do that… and I respect those that are capable of walking that path…"

"Tsuchikage-sama…" the boy began, but for some reason the words froze in his throat. The man only widen his smile as he headed towards the gate: "Come with me… if I am to teach you Angel Dust, we mustn't train in here…" and with that they both left the estate.

---Flashback ends---

"So this is what happened…" concluded Naruto with a smile as he glanced at Hinako. "Sounds kinds like a fairytale really: they meet, become close… heck, Naraku even managed to get Tsuchikage to teach him that Mitsukai Hokori thingy… all I got was ero-sennin and his 'information gathering'…" and at that he slammed his chin on the desk before him.

Hinata merely giggled at the blonde's behavior, yet the former cloud-nin narrowed her eyes: "This story isn't really a fairytale… if anything, it's a nightmare that one would wake up with a scream from…" and as she said so both Leaf shinobi glanced at her surprised. "The story hasn't ended yet… on the contrary… it was only beginning…"

_**---a beautiful story… that twists into a true horror… you turn the page and…---**_

And with that, this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave a review once you're done, coz otherwise this fic will be put on hold.

There's just one more thing left to say: MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR! If you'll review, we'll most likely 'see' each other next year! Take care!


	17. Angel With Cut Wings part II

Finally I've managed to finish this! Sorry it took me so long to complete, but collage was a real disaster for me lately and I'm falling behind with basically all my fics (and my original stories on FictionPress too). Luckily now I'm a bit more free and what's more, I've gotten a huge inspiration for this chapter in the evening. I sat down to it and managed to write it all.

I won't be original by saying that I really appreciate all the reviews for last time. At the same time I'd like to apologize if I didn't reply to some of them, coz FF seemed to screwed up slightly in the meantime and some of the review alerts didn't reach my mailbox. I hope I didn't miss any reviews, but if I did, sorry. Due to quite a few replies for last time, I've decided to give this story a shot a little longer. But please, DO REVIEW. It'd mean a lot and show that this fic is really worth continuing (I need such assurance especially now, when my original stories on FictionPress became quite popular and I have to concentrate on them as well).

On a little more positive note: I've gotten a second beta! (how come only this story of mine gets those, whereas the others are still on my back only:D). With that there'll be even less grammar mistakes (or at least I hope so) then before. I also hope that you'll give those two, brave guys a warm welcome (I mean c'mon, they actually sign up for this most unpleasant work out of their own, free will… I think it's admirable… and I'm not trying to suck up to them!), both Falkyn and TheWatcherandReader!

_Falkyn: Not much to say. TheWatcherandReader beta'd before I did, so I didn't have much to do. Just a quick scan with grammar check, then a fast re-read through. I didn't see much, though. If you notice anything, please don't be a douche about it._

And with that said, I believe the only thing left for me to do is to get on with the show:

**Chapter #17: An Angel With Cut Wings – Tamao's Story part II**

**_Title Page:_** Tamao and Naraku are skipping stones on a lake

Yari closed the door behind her, head bowed. As she looked down the hall, she noticed Temari coming her way. The blonde kunoichi glanced at the young girl and after giving her a weak smile, she asked: "You came to visit that Tamao girl?" the fomer sand-nin nodded and the fan user's face turned sad. "That Naraku fellow still hasn't left her side, has he? In his condition, it's not wise for him to put such stress on his body…"

"It can't be helped…" Yari replied with a forced smile. "Even if his life was in danger, he wouldn't leave her side… because for Naraku, Tamao is a very important person… much more important then his own life… because Tamao is someone, who gave him the will to live…"

Temari only stared at her friend for a short moment before she responded: "It's good to have someone like that…" the blue-haired girl only lowered her head as the blonde went pass her.

The spear user's eyes narrowed as her face became sad: "_Indeed, it's good to have someone like that…_" she thought to herself as her eyes became blank. "_Sometimes I wish I…_" but she never finished that thought. She took a deep breath and went down the hall, towards the exit of the hospital.

---Seven years ago in Iwa---

"I must say that I'm impressed, Naraku-san" announced the Tsuchikage, as the two slowly headed back towards the Iwa leader's estate. "I never expect for you to get the hang of Mitsukai Hokori so fast… after all, it's been a little less then a year…"

"Yeah, well, it's not like I have any real control over it anyway" the boy replied, blushing slightly at the compliment. "Even if I were to use it, it'd only end up making things worse" and with that he forced himself to laugh, while scratching the back of his head. Suddenly he froze however, as he realized the face of the man beside him became serious and his eyes were set on top of the estate.

The former leaf-nin followed Ishido's gaze and noticed three people standing one the roof. Well, two at least, since the third was being held by the collar above the ground. Naraku's eyes narrowed instantly at the realization of who the other two were; the black cloaks with red clouds on them… there could be no mistake about it: "Akatsuki…" he stated simply, getting into a fighting position.

The first man seemed rather young, albeit his short, silver-hair, that was gelled to the back of his head. He had hazel eyes and wore a headband with the slashed, Grass symbol around his neck. Naraku also spotted a huge scythe with three, crimson red blades attached to his back. The man partner's age was hard to tell, as his face was covered by a black and silver mask. His eyes were green and he had a slashed, Waterfall hitae-ate on his forehead.

The former waterfall-nin was the one that held the third person by the collar. And that person was Tamao, who found herself struggling for air. The moment she noticed the two, new arrivals, she only managed to call out weakly: "Naraku-kun…" with hope appearing in her eyes.

"Leave her alone, you assholes!" the young boy demanded, with fury slowly creeping onto his face. The one with the mask only let out a sigh as he turned towards his partner: "See, I told you we should've finished her off. That way taking her out of the village wouldn't present a problem…"

"I already told you, Kakuzu, that there was not enough space in the estate for me to perform my ritual" the one with the scythe shoot back. "I can't go off, killing without my prayers…" and the moment he said so, Naraku suddenly appeared on the roof, with a kunai ready in his hand.

"I told you to leave her alone!" he repeated as he slashed his knife at the former, waterfall-nin, yet Kakuzu easily dodged by jumping back and then held out his free hand forward. In a fraction of a second, the man's palm shoot forward, attached to the rest of the hand by some strange, black strings, and grabbed the surprised boy by the neck so hard, the former Konoha shinobi gasped for air.

"What an annoying brat" stated the one with the scythe as he reached for his weapon. "I hope Jashin-sama will forgive you" and with that he swung his blade at the boy, only to have it stopped a second later.

As the former grass-nin glanced forward, he noticed it was Ishido who grabbed his scythe by the handle with his left hand and stopped the attack before it reached its target. In the next moment the large man smashed his right fist into the roof, concentrating his chakra into it at the exact second. In a flash the roof under the scythe user's feet cracked and before the Akatsuki member could do anything, he has fallen down into the estate.

"_Well, he is the Tsuchikage after all_" Kakuzu concluded in his mind as he looked at Ishido. "_Fighting him will be problematic, even more so concerning we're on his ground_" and just then his eyes widen slightly as he saw the Iwa leader suddenly appearing before him and slamming his fist into his stomach with full power, thus sending him flying back, while he released the two captured kids in the process.

But before the former waterfall-nin hit the ground, his hands shoot out again and grabbed the edge of the estate's roof. With one, quick motion, Kakuzu pulled himself back on the roof, while his partner found himself entering the garden below.

Ishido narrowed his eyes: "_I may be the Tsuchikage, but this is still Akatsuki we're up against. Fighting two at once will be difficult, even more so since I have to watch out for both Tamao and Naraku_" and the instant he thought that, Kakuzu suddenly took his shirt off, thus revealing a body full of seams.

In a fraction of a second the same, black strings that held the former waterfall-nin's arms with the rest of his body, shoot out from his back, slowly forming themselves into some sort of humanoid shapes with white masks attached to them. Before they knew it, Ishido and the two kids found themselves surrounded by four, deformed creatures, each glaring at them from their monstrous masks.

"_What the hell?_" Ishido asked himself as he looked around. "_I've never heard of a technique like this. Plus those masks… they're all different from one another. There must be a reason behind that. Things have gone from bad to worse!_"

"Fighting the Yondaime Tsuchikage himself" Kakuzu suddenly stated with a note of joy in his voice. "This sure brings back memories… of the time I fought the Shodaime Hokage!" and at this point Naraku's eyes widen in surprise: "What the hell are you talking about? You're way too young to even live at the same time The First did!"

"Believe what you want brat" the former waterfall-nin responded calmly as the black strings began floating out of his right hand. "This won't change your fate in anyway!" and with that the creature that stood on Naraku's left suddenly jumped straight at the young Monodane.

In a flash the former leaf-nin turned towards the attacker and went through a series of hand seals: "Hinote Kuiki: Ryuumori!" Immediately a huge fireball escaped his mouth and flew straight at the incoming creature, yet the figure only opened its mouth and to his surprise a huge tidal wave came out of it, making his technique ineffective.

"_A water user, eh?_" the boy concluded as he ran to his right, performing another chain of hand seals. "_Guess fire domain won't do…_" and with that thought he finished his technique, calling out: "Mizu Kuiki: Tsurara Misairu no Jutsu!"

In a fraction of a second a large icicle formed itself from the water that the creature used to defend itself from his previous attack, and flew right at the beast in the attempt to pierce its body, but this time the creature on his left opened its mouth and before he knew it, tons of rocks flew out of its mouth, forming a powerful wall of stone in front of the former leaf-nin's target, making his ice bullet crush hard against it and breaking into pieces.

"_Doton?_" the boy's eyes widen in surprise. "_How can he use two types of ninjutsu? People who have talent in two elements are less then 1 of the whole population! That's just my luck to face an opponent that's a member of the scary minority. But still, this is earth and earth weakens when soaked with water! I'll make it weak for Ishido-sama or Tamao-chan to go for the final blow!_ (_A/N: I read the manga and I'm aware of the thing Yamato drew Naruto about the elements, but this is a law of nature: soaked ground turns into mud_)" and with that thought he performed another set of hand seals, this time ending it with a call: "Mizu Kuiki: Mizu Hebi no Jutsu!" and instantly a large among of water escaped his mouth, forming itself into a snake.

As the water beast went straight at the stone wall that defended the water-using creature, another of the strange figures appeared in the attacks way and upon opening its mouth, a large ball of electricity shoot right at the liquid snake. The moment the two attacks collide, the electric shock went through the snake and gave Naraku a shock from the inside of his mouth, which literally blasted the boy to the edge of the roof.

"_A raiton technique as well?_" now it was Tamao who could barely believe what she just saw. Kakuzu only chuckled as he glanced at the former leaf-nin, who was very slowly, struggling back to his feet: "Well, your strategy was pretty good… to fight earth with water. But you didn't take a single thing into account: I can use any ninjutsu type I desire!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Naraku weakly, feeling his mouth getting slightly numb as speaking up every word hurt. "That's the Monodane bloodline limit! I've never heard of two clans having the same ability, even less when they're from different villages!"

"You don't really understand" replied Kakuzu calmly. "And I don't feel like explaining it to you!" and with that he appeared right before Naraku, much faster then the boy could react. As the young Monodane saw the huge, former waterfall-nin's fist coming right at him, Ishido appeared out of nowhere and grabbed him, making the Akatsuki member's attack miss its target.

"_As long as we're not standing on the ground, my techniques will be less effective_" the Iwa leader thought to himself before yelling back: "Tamao-chan, get off the roof!" and instantly the kunoichi listened, following her father, who was falling right into the garden. However, that was exactly what Kakuzu's partner waited for as he stood in the middle of a strange symbol drawn on the ground: "Gotcha!" he announced before swinging his huge scythe once more, aiming to cut the Tsuchikage in two.

Acting on instinct, the huge man deflected the attack by hitting the handle of the scythe in the place between the blades, yet still got his right hand cut slightly. The moment he landed on the ground, he placed Naraku back to his feet. Tamao soon joined them, while the former grass-nin pulled back his weapon and licked Ishido's blood off the blade of his scythe.

"Now you'll face my punishment" he announced with a smirk as his face suddenly started to resemble a skull. Tamao shivered at the sight as Naraku went into a fighting stance, ready to attack. However, before he could charge at the Akatsuki member, Ishido's large hand appeared in his way: "Watch out… the way he looks… it's disturbing."

"You bet it is" the scythe user shot back and to everyone's surprise, he pierced his right leg, but even though his blood sprayed the ground, the one who collapsed to the garden floor was Ishido. "Dad!" the young kunoichi screamed as the Iwa leader grabbed his right leg.

"It's a curse" the Tsuchikage narrowed his eyes as he glanced up at the former grass-nin, slowly getting back to his feet. "So this is why you licked my blood of that scythe; to establish a connection between us!"

"Jackpot, geezer!" replied the Akatsuki member with a smile. Ishido yet kept serious: "But why are you so overjoyed? You should've felt that just as bad as I did… that's why this technique was never commonly used. The only one to do it was an ANBU from your village, who used it as a suicide technique to kill the former Tsuchikage's guards during the last, Great Shinobi War!"

"It's my, little secret" the scythe user replied as he aimed a spike at his heart. "And now say goodbye" and just as he was about to pierce his own chest, Naraku suddenly appeared behind him, finishing another set of hand seals: "Don't forget you have more then one opponent! Hinote Kuiki: Ryuu…" but he never managed to finish his technique as Kakuzu suddenly stood in his way and hit him hard in the face with his left fist.

As the former leaf-nin flew back, black strings shot from Kakuzu's right hand and pierced both Naraku's hands and legs, making the boy immobile and cry out in pain. The Akatsuki member only stood there, with his right hand extended forward, and announced calmly: "You're not very bright, are you? Since Hidan made a connection with the Yondaime, it means that whatever happens to him, will affect Tsuchikage as well. If you'd fry Hidan to a crisp, your ally would only end up in the same state. And since Hidan's immortal, you wouldn't kill him anyway, so you shouldn't bother…"

"Hey, Kakuzu, it's not nice to reveal your partner's secrets just like that" the scythe user announced, looking over his shoulder. "How would you feel if I'd tell them that the reason you can use all ninjutsu types is because you have five hearts, each belonging to an opponent you killed in the past…"

"You're an idiot, Hidan" the former waterfall-nin shot back, slightly irritated, but decided to let it be and turned his eyes back onto Naraku. "From the thing you said earlier on the roof, I assume you're from the Monodane clan. It's surprising really, coz I never expected to see one after the whole incident that occurred about a year ago. A person that has access to all, ninjutsu types… your heart would certainly prove to be a valuable addition to my collection" and with that he turned to his partner again: "Hidan, I'll let you have the other two, but this brat is mine" and with that another string shoot from his hand, coming straight at the boy.

Meanwhile the former grass-nin once more aimed the spike he held at his heart and prepared to pierce his chest in order to kill the Tsuchikage. Naraku only clenched his teeth and shut his eyes in an act of helplessness: "_Dammit, I've trained so hard! I made an oath! I promised to kill Resshin! And in the end, I'm incapable of doing anything even against those two…_"

"Stop it!" a sudden voice echoed through the garden, surprisingly making both Akatsuki members stop in their tracks. As the two missing-nins turned in the direction the voice came from, they saw Tamao breathing heavily, with her eyes slowly turning black: "I won't allow you to hurt them!" she announced with a voice that seemed slightly deeper then her usual one.

In a flash ground shot up from below Hidan's feet, thus blasting him out of the symbol he stood in. Kakuzu was not spared either as stone spikes suddenly shoot out from the ground, coming right at him. By letting Naraku go, the former waterfall-nin managed to avoid the attack by jumping into the air, yet one of his creatures was not fast enough and once it got pierced by the spike, its mask went into pieces, while the being itself disappeared into nothingness.

A single drop of sweat began running down Ishido's face as he looked at his daughter, not even moved by the fact that the curse Hidan placed upon him was broken. The young Monodane immediately run towards the kunoichi: "Tamao-chan, that was…" he began, but his compliment was instantly disturbed by the Iwa leader's call: "No Naraku, stay away!" yet it was too late.

In a, instant orange chakra began escaping the girl's body and formed itself into a palm with claws, the hit the surprised boy right in the stomach, sending him flying away. Tamao only widen her eyes in horror as she called out in desperation: "Naraku-kun!"

"Kakuzu, what the fuck is going on?" Hidan demanded as he glanced at his partner, who had his eyes settled on the kunoichi. The former waterfall-nin narrowed his eyes as he replied: "It'd seem that Kaku is trying to get loose. Most likely that girl has too little experience it controlling her demon and by just using a little bit of her own chakra, she gave the seven-tails an opportunity to use even that small amount to break free…"

"Meaning she's turning into Kaku?" the former grass-nin asked, having his partner only nod in agreement. "Well, we shouldn't let that happen then" he announced and instantly threw his scythe forward, aiming to bring its three blades on the girl from above. To his surprise however, his weapon got blown away but the field of orange chakra that was now surrounding the kunoichi.

Tamao, who was now standing bended a little to the front, glanced at him with her eyes now completely black, her body shaking and sweating, while her skin started to become pale. In a fraction of a second, orange claws extended from the chakra hand that hit Naraku earlier, and cut Hidan to pieces, literally scattering his body all over the place.

"_Such power_" thought Kakuzu calmly, not making anything of his partner's death. "_With such ease she managed to destroy one heart and even ripped Hidan… putting him together will take a while, considering I'll manage to collect all the pieces. Oh well, I suppose that in current circumstances I should retreat for the time being. With her demon released, it'd seem typical attacks won't do. I should report this…_" and with that he was gone, taking the former grass-nin's leg that laid close by with him.

Meanwhile Naraku slowly got back to his feet, breathing heavily and holding his stomach. He looked at Tamao, who suddenly collapsed to her knees and began shaking. Her eyes for a split second turned back to normal and with tears falling down her cheeks, the kunoichi managed to ask in a pleading tone: "Dad, w-what's going on? W-what's happening?" but in the next instant a terrible pain shoot from her head as her eyes once more became black, while the veins on her body started pulsing.

"Ishido-sama, what's going on?" Naraku repeated the kunoichi's question, not taking his eyes off the girl. As he looked at her, he felt like his heart was being crushed as he saw her trembling. He could almost feel the fear and pain she felt at that moment. He KNEW she felt it. And just that thought was unbearable to him.

"The demon that was sealed inside her at birth is trying to get loose" the Iwa leader replied shortly as his breath become quicker. The younger Monodane could easily felt worry in his voice, yet couldn't tell whether the man was more worried about the girl or about the two of them.

"A demon?" the boy once more repeated, only now realizing what the man just said.

"Tamao is a Jinchuuriki" Ishido responded, making Naraku's eyes widen. "One of the tailed beasts was sealed inside of her and right now that beast is trying to take over her body. If it'll manage to do that, this village will be wiped out from the maps. I cannot allow it!"

"But Ishido-sama, that's your daughter!" the former leaf-nin reminded him. "And above all, she's Tamao-chan! You can't kill her! I won't…" but at this point he was interrupted by the large man: "I'm not planning to kill her. If you wouldn't be here, then that would've been the only solution…"

Naraku only looked at the man with his eyes widen in surprise, as he continued: "You said that you wished to protect my daughter. Naraku, I'll give you a chance to prove it. Alone I'm incapable of stopping the demon to run loose, but with your help we might be able to seal it again without sacrificing Tamao's life!" and with that he looked deep into the boy's eyes.

The former leaf-nin shivered in fear. No matter what you say, this was the demon they were facing. How could a human withstand it? Then he glanced over at Tamao, who now was completely surrounded by orange chakra. Her teeth became fangs as her nails grew into claws. Seeing this made courage suddenly appear in his heart. Naraku narrowed his eyes in determination and then nodded, turning back towards Ishido.

"Good" the man managed a smile and then set his eyes onto his daughter. "Prepare yourself well then. You're going to see the real purpose of the Mitsukai Hokori…"

---Flashback ends---

"I never thought that Naraku faced those two immortal freaks" conclude Naruto with a serious face. Hinako glanced at him with her eyebrow up, making the blonde explain: "Hinata-chan and I ran into them in the Rain country about a year ago. Even thought I managed to kill that Kakuzu dude once, he just kept fighting like nothing happened… so did that scythe fellow after receiving the attack on the heart from Hinata's gentle fist…"

"So they're still alive" the green-haired girl said to herself. "Could it be that they really can't be killed? When Naraku-sama told me this story, I thought that Waterfall guy was only playing and once Tamao ripped his partner to pieces, I figured she rid the world of that scythe sicko for good…"

"Apparently not" Hinata cut in quietly. "But leaving that aside, what happened next?"

"How should I say this?" the former cloud-nin asked herself with a moment of thought. "In short, things have gone from horrible, to worse…"

_**---the demon awakens… and the conclusion?---**_

And this chapter ends. Hope you enjoyed it. Up next: the conclusion of the flashback! What happened that led to the way things are now? And what impact it'll have on Hinata and Naruto? Don't miss the next chapter!

Actually, this flashback turned out to be longer then I pictured it. When I first thought out this story, I was positive that I'll manage to squeeze it into two chapters and here I am, separating it into three out of necessity. Though I'm still pretty much happy with how it turned out.

_Mizu Kuiki: Mizu Hebi no Jutsu_ (Water Domain: Water Snake Skill) – a technique used by the Monodane clan members that have mastered the water domain. The user first gathers chakra in his mouth and then releases it in the form of water (by using the correct set of hand seals) that shapes itself into a snake. The jutsu is not that different from Zabuza's Water Dragon Blast. The only two differences are the fact that it can be perform without a nearby water source, but at the same time it's much weaker then the mist-nins attack.

And so this chapter really ends. Hope you enjoyed. Do leave a review once you're done with it. Best wishes and have a great day. Until next time!


	18. Angel With Cut Wings part III

Yup, I'm finally finished with the next chapter of "Shinobi Story". It's shorter then the previous chapters, but I don't really suppose it matter, since **THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE FIC THAT I'LL SUBMIT!** Due to the lack of interest for last time, I've decided to DROP THIS and concentrate on the more successful works of mine.

Some of you will probably ask why submit this chapter then? Well, the answer is this: I didn't want to leave those who actually do read, review and enjoy this fic on ice and so I figured I'll finish Tamao's story before finishing. Normally this fic had quite a few chapters to go, but oh well.

However I do want to thank everyone who DID review the previous chapter. It really means a lot and I'm glad you guys liked this fic. Sorry for stopping it at the moment when it basically was about to speed up, but… I'm happy that this story managed to entertain you, if only for a little while.

And so, without further to do, here's the last (not from those planned) chapter of "Shinobi Story":

**Chapter #18: Angel With Cut Wings – Tamao's story part III**

_**Title Page:**_ Out front there's Tamao, gathering her chakra into the tips of her fingers, prepared to perform Mitsukai Hokori, and in the background stands Naraku with angel-like wings made of ice growing out from his back

Tamao's finger moved as she slowly opened her eyes, which seemed to weight tons. But finally she managed to open them and immediately she noticed Naraku bending over her with a warm smile. "Welcome back, Tamao-chan" was all he said as he helped the girl sit up. "How are you feeling?"

"W-well…" she began shyly as her head was still slightly dizzy. "N-not so good, I'm afraid" and with that she lowered her head, but almost instantly she raised it again as Naraku placed his hand on her chin and softly made her look up.

"At least you've woken up" he announced, still smiling. "You don't have to worry, rest all you want. You're safe now, thanks to Naruto mostly…" he added, trying to calm her down, yet failed in achieving that.

The former stone-nin lowered her head again and very quietly, just so that he could hear her, she announced: "All I do is cause trouble… nothing changed it that matter. All I can do is put you and my friends in danger, Naraku-kun… just like those seven years ago…"

---Seven years ago in Iwa---

"The real purpose of inventing Mitsukai Hokori?" Naraku repeated confused as he looked at the Iwa leader. The man only nodded as he kept his eyes set on his daughter: "You see, because of the sealing method used to trap the demon inside her, typical attacks won't do. Basically, without having a demon element in his chakra, one cannot break through her defense…"

"So why Mitsukai Hokori?" asked the young Monodane, although he already figured out the answer. Ishido merely confirmed his suspicions: "Demons use chakra in its natural form. This is one of the reasons why they surpass human. However Mitsukai Hokori is also based on releasing chakra in its natural form, so to say it's the attack that's the closest to that of a demon. That technique, although a shinobi one, can break through Kaku's defense, leaving Tamao wide open…"

"So what do you need me to do?"

"With her defenses activated, I can't get near Kaku" began Ishido calmly as he picked out a scroll. "But in order to seal the demon away, I need to touch Tamao's forehead. It's a complex ritual, which you probably won't manage to perform at this point. Naraku, what I'm going to tell you now is very important" he announced, giving the boy the scroll he held in his hand: "Here you'll find all the details concerning the ritual, in case Kaku would try to get loose again. With it, you'll manage to stop him if that'd happen…"

"But Ishido-sama, why are you giving me this?"

"Because no matter what'll happen now, I won't live to see another day" he replied calmly, forcing a smile. The boy looked at him even more surprised, but the man just continued: "Listen, Naraku, I need you to use Mitsukai Hokori against the defensive sphere around my daughter in order to clear the way for me…"

"But I'm still incapable of using it correctly!" the boy reminded him as panic took over the young Monodane. "I might loose control and get us both killed, to skip the risk of destroying your village!"

"If Kaku won't be stopped, Iwa will be doomed anyways" the Tsuchikage announced painfully. "Besides, the ritual requires time to prepare… even with my speed, I won't managed to perform it fast enough after I used Mitsukai Hokori. Kaku's defensive sphere would manage to regenerate itself before I could finish the seals. That's why I'm begging you, Naraku, to help me. Use that technique here and now… and please, do your best to not lose control, so that my daughter would live after this…"

At first the boy didn't reply. He got terrified. But as he glanced at Tamao again, into her black holes that replaced her eyes, as he looked at her pale skin and her thinner then normal body, and above all the shivers that embraced her, he narrowed his eyes and with a quick nod, he announced: "I'll do my best…"

Ishido only smiled and then he bite his finger while picking out a scroll, and began writing on it with his blood. Meanwhile Naraku took few steps forward and closed his eyes slightly; the aura that was now surrounding the young kunoichi was terrifying. Even more terrifying then he could've imagined. Slowly he began gathering chakra in the tips of his fingers and instantly felt a strain put on his body.

With a loud cry he suddenly charged, extending his right hand forward, which was now surrounded with white aura. However the instant his fingers touched the defensive sphere of Kaku, an incredible pain shoot from Naraku's hand.

The boy clenched his teeth in order to keep a yell of pain inside as he felt like beneath his skin thousands of red ants found their lair an began biting from inside. A sudden blast of his own blood, that exploded from his hand, made his eyes widen in surprise. His hand started shaking as veins on it became more visible.

Naraku felt an incredible blood pressure inside his body and then a barely hearable crack reached his ears. Most likely one of his bones just broke. He kept on pushing forward, ignoring the pain, and finally, when his vision began getting blur, the orange chakra surrounding Tamao's body suddenly seemed to fade away. The boy only managed a smile as he collapsed to the ground.

In a flash Ishido appeared and writing a strange symbol on his daughter's forehead, he placed his hand on it. Instantly veins grew visible on the man's hand as it too began shaking. The Tsuchikage began sweating heavily as he glanced over his shoulder at the missing-nin, who was barely conscious: "Naraku, this is where it ends. But in order for it to end, you'll have to do one more thing… in the scroll I gave you, at its end, there's a big symbol drawn there. It's the one you must write on Tamao's forehead with your own blood once I'm done. If you won't, Kaku will run loose right after she regains consciousness. Do you understand?"

The boy only managed a weak nod. For some reason words didn't seem to come out of his mouth. The man forced a smile on his face and then continued: "I also have a favor to ask you. You already did plenty, but this is very important to me. As I told you, I won't live to see another day. That much I know for sure. Tamao was always hated because of the demon sealed inside her, but since she was my daughter, people restrained themselves from attacking her. But, once I'm gone, they won't hold back anymore, especially when they'll find out that Tamao was the one that caused my death…"

"She caused your death?" Naraku repeated, regaining his voice.

"She can't stay in the Iwa" Ishido announced, his voice growing weaker. "And therefore I'm asking you, Naraku, to take her with you" and at hearing those word the young Monodane's eyes widen.

"Me?" he asked surprised. "Why me?"

"Because you're the first one, besides myself and my wife, who haven't treated her as a monster, even when you learned her secret" Ishido replied, smiling to him. "I'm really grateful to you for that. Also, I know you'll take good care of her…"

"But if she'll go with me, it'll be dangerous!" Naraku opposed, even though he would really prefered not to. "And with my hand as it is now, I won't be able to fight to protect her!"

"There's a way for that" the man replied, catching Tamao, who just lost her consciousness. "In Ibano, a town near here, not long ago appeared a woman with huge breasts. She's one of the Legendary Leaf as your people call them. Her name is Tsunade and she's thought to be the best medic-nin there is. If you'll manage to find her, she might be able to save your arm…"

"Legendary Leaf…" Naraku repeated, narrowing his eyes. "But how will I recognize her? From what I know she left Konoha long ago…"

"Well, although she's around fifty years old by now, she's hiding behind a genjutsu that makes her look young" the Tsuchikage announced. "She loves to gamble and as I already told you, she has huge breasts. I'm pretty sure that if you'd ask the men around, they'd manage to tell you something about her current whereabouts…"

The boy hesitated for a moment. On the one hand he'd really like to take the girl with him, however he also knew what awaits on his journey. He then glanced at Tamao, who now laid in her father's arms, completely exhausted. Her skin was as white as snow and her body incredibly skinny. It was obvious that the girl's body has just suffered a lot of stress. And for some reason, that view was what made Naraku make his decision.

"I'll take her with me" he announced as he walked over to the two slowly. "And I promise that never again will Tamao-chan have to suffer what she just did. No matter the costs, I won't allow Kaku to take over her body again!"

"Glad to hear it, Naraku" Ishido announced, smiling once more. "I hope you're the man of your word" and with that he collapsed to the ground. The young Monodane checked his pulse, though he knew what the result would be. The Tsuchikage was already dead.

After a short moment Naraku opened the scroll the man gave him and biting his thumb he began drawing the symbol on the girl's forehead. Once he managed to complete it, he lifted her up and placing her on his back, he slowly began walking towards the exit of the village. The sooner they'd get out, the better.

---Flashback end---

"And that's pretty much it" concluded Hinako after a moment of thought. "Some time later Naraku-sama managed to meet me and then located this whole Tsunade person, who fixed his arm. After that the three of us went on our way…"

"Now I wonder if meeting with Naraku wasn't something that made Tsunade-oba to act the way she did to ero-sennin's proposition" Naruto thought out loud. "Hearing what that Tsuchikage dude did and that Uchiha incident took place again might have made her doubt in the point of protecting the village…"

"You meet Tsunade as well?" the former cloud-nin glanced at him surprised with her eyes widen as the blonde nodded in response: "Basically I helped ero-sennin convince her to become our Godaime… even though I didn't like that" he added with a smile and after a moment of silence he got up, heading towards the door.

"Naruto-kun, where are you going?" asked Hinata as she looked after her crush. The Kyuubi vessel stopped halfway and without turning around, he replied: "There's something I need to do… I'll see you guys later" and with that he left.

"What was that all about?" asked Hinako confused, but the Hyuuga heiress only smiled under her nose. To her, it was obvious what the whisker-marks thoughts were.

At that time, in the hallway, Naruto stopped and lowered his head, placing his right hand on the wall. As he recalled the story he just heard in his head, his hand clenched into a fist as anger slowly taken over him. Anger directed mostly towards himself: "_That time… Naraku didn't hesitate to bet his life to save someone important to him and me? Just like that I forgot about my own promise… just because I couldn't do it, I've decided to give up and take the easy way… but no more! I'll bring Sasuke back! But to do so, I need to get stronger… much stronger…_" and with that thought he headed down the hall.

---Some time later in Suna hospital---

Naraku exited the room, nearly bumping into Yari, who was just reaching for the door. After a short moment of silence, the blue-haired girl finally decided to speak up: "So, how does she feels?" she asked, giving the former leaf-nin a demanding look.

"She's resting now" the boy replied with a little concern in his voice. "Regaining her strength after the demon tried to take over will certainly take a while, but now that she's woken up, everything should be fine. And I should go find Naruto… if I recall, I still failed to thank him for that time. Any idea where he is?"

"Well, the last time I saw him, he was asking Gaara-kun for some favor" Yari replied and received a thanking nod from the young Monodane as he walked down the hall. The kunoichi hesitated for a moment and then speak up again, gaining her companion's attention: "You know, Naraku-kun… since that time you fought him, I wanted to ask you something… why did you choose to actually take him along?"

Naraku stopped at that. He didn't turn around and settled his gaze on the floor beneath his feet. As his eyes slightly narrowed, he turn around and placed a smile on his face before replying: "Honestly… haven't got a clue!" but seeing that the girl was not satisfied with that answer, his face became serious again: "You're not gonna buy that, are ya?" he asked rhetorically and then went on: "In actuality, it was his eyes… I can't really explain it, but that time when he used the Rasengan, I saw something in them… and it was that thing that effected me. If I had to give an exact reason, I'm not sure if there was one, but in that one instant I felt that the two of us were somehow bond together…"

"I thought you didn't believe in fate…"

"I don't…" he admitted. "It was something else… I mean, didn't you ever had this strange feeling that when you looked at someone, you knew that there was something binding you together?" and at this point the blue-haired girl looked away. "It's true that I didn't considered him as someone strong enough to confront my brother or Juusan Akuma, but after all this time, I see that I was only half right. Naruto may not be the strongest person in the world, but everyday he grows stronger… and sooner or later, he'll surely surpass me" and with that he began walking away. "And what's more, I'm positive it'll happen sooner then later…"

"Naraku, before you go" Yari stopped her friend, gaining his attention once more. "I have a message for you from Gaara-kun…"

---A little later, elsewhere---

Naruto breathed heavily as sweat run down his face while he rested his hands on his bended knees. He glanced up at Gaara, who was standing few meters before him with his sand swirling around him. He didn't seem exhausted at all, yet a good eye could see that his breath became faster as well. "You almost had it that time" the redhead announced calmly, making the blonde smile widely.

"Yeah well, almost won't do" he replied, standing straight again. "Back in the Leaf, when we fought, I had a trigger… and now I need to be able to go all out even without such trigger. If you can still go on, I wanna give it another shoot…"

The Kazekage only nodded as the blonde went into his fighting stance, but just then they were interrupted by Naraku who walked into the room. "Training, I see?" he more announced then asked as a tiny smile appeared on his face. "Sorry for interruption, but I need to talk to you, Gaara-san" and as the redhead turned towards him, he continued: "Yari told me about your fight with a member of Juusan Akuma. I want to know if it's true what she said… were they after the Dog symbol you're protecting?"

"That was their reason to come" the Godaime replied simply. "For most part…"

"Then all I can do is thank you for your hospitality" the young Monodane announced, bowing slightly. "I'm afraid I'll need to take my leave very soon. I'd like to ask you to keep Tamao-chan protected during my absences. Normally I'd wait for her to recover, but this time I cannot wait…"

"What's the rush?" demanded Naruto, completely confused.

"I don't know why Juusan are after the symbols, but if they are, they should be stopped" Naraku replied patiently as he turned towards the blonde. "I doubt my brother would make an effort to get them just to have a collection, so there must be some purpose for him to want them all… and it just so happens that I know the one who has the Rooster symbol from Konoha…"

"And who might that be?" asked Gaara, still not showing any sign of curiosity at all.

"My younger sister…"

---That time in Lighting Country---

"There you go, Akamaru, eat up" a boy wearing a dark blue t-shirt and pants in the same color said to his white-furred dog, placing a bowl of food before it. He boy had hazel, dog-like eyes and spiky, brown hair. But the thing that drew the most attention in him, besides a hitae-ate with the Leaf symbol on it, located on his forehead, were two, red, fang-like tattoos on both his cheeks.

The boy's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the sky, where storm clouds began to gather. "_Those clouds… it's almost like a premonition of something bad. And this weird feeling I've been having since yesterday… I wonder what all that means. And there's always those two from before…_"

And as he was trailing off in his thoughts, two figures observed him from afar. The one with spiky, brown hair and green eyes, with a hitae-ate with a slashed, Grass symbol on his forehead turned towards his companion and asked without any trace of emotion on either his face or in his voice: "That guy… he has the Leaf headband. Do you suppose he may interfere with our plans, Henkou?"

The man wearing a violet cloak didn't even looked at his companion. In stead a tiny smirk appeared on his face as he replied: "It doesn't really matter, Toge… if he'll get in our way… we'll just kill him…"

_**---storm clouds gather once more… the real battle is about to begin---**_

And so this chapter ends, taking this fic with it. Once more I'd like to thank everyone who read and review this story. It's been fun. Sorry to drop this fic without getting to the end, but what can I say? I can always encourage you to try out my other, "Naruto" fics.

Thanks everyone and take care!


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